Hey guys! So, last weekend I had the opportunity to speak at Camp Shetek's Ladies Camp event... which explains this mid-sentence photo that my mom snapped of me behind a podium. :) I'm sorry you have to see me looking unenthusiastic and kinda nervous, because it was such a great time and I don't think I stopped smiling all day. I got to talk about food! (you know how I love that.) I talked about the top 10 healthy choices our family makes; the things that we've learned or have put into practice in our household that really, honestly help us. It was really fun and I loved getting to chat with the ladies and my mom and sister (who made the long trip to be there) afterwards! I thought you guys might like to see my presentation also, so here are my slides and speech:

Hi guys. I'm getting on my magnesium soap box today. Did you know I'm in love with magnesium? Yeah, it's true. My love affair started after reading this post a few years ago, and now I'll tell anyone who will listen how great it is. You can read a little bit about it in this post where I shared my favorite supplements for pregnancy (but they're also my favorites when I'm not pregnant). In the past, magnesium has helped tame my morning sickness when I was pregnant with Casper, got my stress hormones under control after a rough birth recovery and tense first couple months as a new mom, relieved muscle aches in my upper back and calves (chiropractic care also helped with these), and now I have another cool story about how I've seen the healing properties of magnesium at work in my own body. Specifically in my teeth. I've been so excited about this and dying to post about it!


After Casper was born and about a week or two into heavy nursing, I noticed some gray spots developing on my teeth. I watched for several days, brushing and flossing a little fiercer each day, and saw the spots start to spread. They weren't anything you could brush away or dissolve with mouthwash. These were related to a mineral deficiency. I have struggled with a magnesium deficiency in the past and knew that I probably wasn't getting nearly enough now that I was nursing Casper and supplying his body with magnesium on top of my own. So, having read that magnesium remineralizes teeth, I immediately started supplementing with it from a couple different sources.

I love my Ancient Minerals magnesium oil, but with a brand new baby and not much time in the bathroom, it just didn't work to try to keep up with it daily. Instead, I started drinking a glass of Natural Calm magnesium powder every day and I also stirred in a full daily dose of Concentrace trace mineral drops. Within a few days of starting this new regimen, the gray spots on my teeth began to disappear. It was incredible. After a few weeks, the spots were gone. Now Casper is 9 weeks old, I've kept up with my magnesium drink daily, and the spots haven't returned. I had Grant study my teeth last night and he couldn't tell where they had been. Amazing! (Added bonus: magnesium relieves constipation! Let's just say, I haven't had to worry about it a bit. And any of you girls who have given birth know that's huge.)


So encouraged by the progress I was seeing with the magnesium supplementation, I decided that while I was at it, some oil pulling would be great for my teeth, not to mention my overall health. You can read about it here if you're interested, but basically oil pulling is as simple as putting a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and swishing it around for 5-20 minutes. Sort of like mouthwash, but for a longer amount of time. Then you spit it out into the garbage (do not swallow!) and rinse. It pulls toxins, viruses, plaque, bacteria, and yeasts out of your mouth and has countless other health benefits- a super cleansing, healing, and detoxifying little technique.

I committed to oil pulling first thing every morning (which is the most beneficial time to do it) for 10 minutes, for a week. Any longer than 10 minutes and I start to think it's too much work, so I don't bother doing it, and I figured I could stick with it if I knew it was just for a week. So, I did it. And honestly, I started seeing results on the first day. As the week went by, I noticed that my teeth were significantly whiter and more shiny! Since then I've happily swished oil around in my mouth every few days, knowing that it really does work.

Just wanted to share my excitement with any of you guys who might also be into this stuff. :)

Disclaimer: Everything in this post is what we've decided is best for us and the results we've seen in our kids- I'm not a healthcare practitioner, just a mom. Please don't consider me as anything more than that. I certainly don't want to present my experience as the standard or my views as the ideal. I'd rather just feel free to share things here that have been helpful for me, with the hope that they may be helpful to someone else. Also, these are fuzzy phone pictures, but fuzzy phone pictures are becoming some of the most precious things in my life.

Hi guys! Just wanted to pop in and answer a couple questions. After this post the other day, several people have asked for more info about which probiotics we're using for Casper. Ok, ok, you should know how excited this makes me. Gut health!! You guys want to talk about it?! I'm totally game! Our family has seen awesome results from this Gut Pro probiotic supplement, so we're sticking with it for our new baby, too. We like that it's potent, it doesn't contain any filler ingredients, it's gluten and dairy free (in case you are worried about a sensitivity there), and it's cost effective. We buy the powder, not the capsules, which is definitely the way to go if you want to use it long-term. It seems very pricey and it certainly is a big investment up front, but we've done the math for the way our family uses it and for us it actually ends up being one of the most affordable probiotics on the market.


I just saw that they also have a brand new infant probiotic formula. Exciting! For Casper, we have been using the regular powder that the rest of the family takes. We just put a tiny spoonful of the powder on his tongue when his mouth is open, usually right before he's going to nurse. How much do we give him? Every day is a little different, but we do try to do it on a daily basis. I don't feel comfortable recommending an amount for you to give your baby, but I know that starting slow and building up to an amount that fits his/her specific needs is the recommended protocol for most probiotics. The nice thing about having a bottle full of powder (as opposed to capsules) is that everyone in our family can take however much they need that day. For example: Grant just took a little extra last night because he felt a sore throat coming on. Probiotics support a healthy immune system!


As I said in the post the other day: "We've been giving him (Casper) probiotics daily and can really tell that they have an effect on his digestion- in a great way." YES. My babies are happier and more comfortable with probiotics in the picture. Because better digestion = better sleep. Way more sleep! Also, way less tears! Better digestion comes with having a balanced gut, which is where the probiotics come in. If I knew back in the day what I know now, poor Hadley wouldn't have had so many sleepless, colicky days. But she started feeling much, much better at around 2 months old, when we really got serious about probiotics and changing my diet (which affected her because she was nursing). At 5 weeks old, Casper has gotten at least triple the amount of sleep that Hadley got in her first 2 months. Our experience so far with him affirms our thoughts on what an important role the gut plays in our babies' world: It's huge! For more information on gut health and other digestion topics like this, you might like to read this post.

Hey guys! So, I regularly receive emails with questions about digestion, diet, going gluten free, and gut health.. which I love. (Add in Jesus, husbands and wives, babies, homelife, etc, and you guys know practically all my favorite subjects!) By the emails, it's apparent that these topics are weighing heavily on a lot of our minds lately. And we all just love to talk to someone who will get it; someone who's been there, done that, right? I thought a new series of posts with some of the food-related FAQ's I've received might be a good idea. Hopefully this will help start beneficial conversations, spread some answers around, and share the digestive love. Thanks for even considering me as someone to ask about these things, because I know I'm just learning along with you guys. 

A bit of my history and some gut groundwork before we hit the questions--- The biggest food changes in my life happened in the first year after Hadley was born, when I was helping my own body heal from antibiotics, birth, and the toll of growing and nourishing another human being. I didn't feel like myself for months after Hadley was born, and I could tell that Hadley had some digestive issues. So, I started reading. And not caring how weird my food got. I was desperate to feel better and help my baby, and I feel like in our culture, that's what it takes. It takes really feeling bad or really being concerned about your baby to embrace the gravity of gut health and make any real sacrifices/changes when it comes to food.

Basically, to squeeze a whole lot of research into one tiny nutshell, here's what I learned and what guides my thinking today: Gut health = Whole health.  Once I understood the concept of the gut being the "second brain" of the body, everything made so much sense. The gut (the 25 feet of intestinal tract inside you) plays a gigantic role in your overall well being. The 3 main jobs of your gut are: a) digestion of foods and conversion into vitamins b) absorption of nutrients and c) prevention of toxins from entering the bloodstream. The gut is at the heart of whole health and, as Hippocrates (Greek scientist and father of Western medicine) said, "all disease begins in the gut." Knowing that, here's how I approach the pursuit of gut health:
1. Eating real, whole, nutrient-dense foods, prepared in a way that your body can digest them.
2. Healing any damage in the lining of the gut to prevent toxic substances from leaking out into the blood stream, and also to enable your body to absorb and use nutrients properly.
3. Establishing and then maintaining a good balance of bacteria in the gut, which enables proper digestion and allows your body's immune system to function correctly.

Now on to some email questions from readers and friends.

1. What is the GAPS diet? GAPS stands for "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" and it is a temporary healing protocol that you can follow anywhere from a couple months to 2 years in order to heal chronic disease, severe allergies, mental illness, digestive problems, yeast overgrowth, depression, constipation, eczema, bloating, and countless other symptoms and disorders. The diet is free of grains, starches, and refined sugars, and rich in healing bone broth, fermented foods/drinks, healthy fats, proteins, veggies, and fruit.*
*fruit- some of you may remember reading that for a few months I didn't eat any fruit. I'll explain why in the next post in this series!

2. When did you start the GAPS diet? I didn't start GAPS until after Hadley was born. She was a couple months old when I started cutting out dairy, gluten, sugar, and other yeast-feeding foods. Then, about a month into eating that way, I read about the GAPS diet and decided that was what I needed. The idea of taking stress off my body by way of what I eat and healing it with real, nourishing food was immediately appealing to me. I was breastfeeding, so I completely skipped the Intro Diet. I found a helpful, simple list of recommended foods and foods to avoid while on the Full GAPS diet, and basically just jumped on board and based all of my meals around that.

3. Did you have a particular health issue that motivated you to try GAPS or was it simply to get healthy? I was motivated to do the GAPS diet because after Hadley was born I took an antibiotic and I could tell that it had thrown my body out of whack. I was not recovering well and struggling with all sorts of symptoms related to a yeast overgrowth. So, a yeast imbalance was one of the main reasons, as well as Hadley's digestion issues (gas, colic, thrush, cradle cap). Also, bloating and constipation were both an underlying, lingering thing for me for years. I knew my gut needed repleinshing with good bacteria and healing as well. And yes, I did see major success by changing my diet! There were huge improvements (practically immediately) for both Hadley and myself.

4. Did either you or Grant do the Intro Diet? I did not, because it's not recommended while nursing. The limitations of the Intro diet make it difficult to take in enough calories for you and a growing baby. Grant did his own modified version of the Intro Diet, I would say. He really focused on lots and lots of healing bone broth. But his situation was such that there were many things that, according to the GAPS protocol, were "OK" for him to start incorporating, but in reality they didn't sit well with him at all. So he experimented on his own to find foods that worked for his system and continued to tailor things as needed. The nice thing about the GAPS diet is that it encourages you to pay attention to your own symptoms and modify things to suit your own body- and you can still see results even if you don't follow it legalistically. 

5. I'm about to order the book, but before I do, do you think it is absolutely essential to read the book, with so much info available on the internet? The book. Great question! For me, the book wasn't essential. I'm sure I could have followed the diet protocol more accurately and precisely with the book by my side, and I know I would enjoy learning all that it has to offer, but at that time in my life (nursing a newborn and feeling completely overwhelmed), I had no time or energy to read a book. I felt like I was barely hanging on, and I was desperate to just start making changes. I started looking around for helpful blogs and googling tons of stuff, and was able to (in my opinion) glean enough to go on. :) I'm sure I did things "wrong" all along the way, but the basic principles made sense to me and I felt like I could follow the idea of Full GAPS diet to the best of my ability without reading the book, and I wanted to see where that got me. The outcome was that I was seeing results, feeling better overall, feeling great about what I was eating, and I had peace that the Lord would bring insight to me as I needed it. If you are interested in seeing some of the blogs that were (super, super) helpful to me, here are 4 of my favorites! 



Anyone interested in these foodie topics like me? Yay! I thought so. And some people are understandably skeptical. I get that, too. Are you thinking this whole gluten-free thing is a trend? Or you're wondering why everyone claims to have food allergies today? For a really, really awesome read, you should check out Chrystal's Love Your Guts post. Her family's story is incredible (and so is she). I love what she says right here:

"When you consider how connected our gut is to the function of every part of our body, it makes sense that you’d want it to be in tip top shape. And trading in some of our comfort foods for less inflammatory, more nutrient-dense versions seems like a small price to pay for a lifetime of feeling WELL."

Disclaimer: As you guys can probably guess, I'm super interested in foodie stuff and do quite a bit of reading about nourishing and caring for our bodies. I wish I blogged about health & nutrition more, and will probably start doing some posts on these topics soon, because I usually get a few emails a week with questions about gut health, digestion, food issues, etc. But I struggle with how I want this information to be perceived via a blog post. I don't like to play doctor. I'm not an expert. I just like to learn. I don't want it to seem like I'm presenting my experience as the standard or my views as the ideal. I'd rather just feel free to share things here that have been helpful for me, with the hope that they may be helpful to someone else. Like we're chatting across the kitchen table. 

With that being said, here are a few supplements that have been beneficial in my life, in my family, in my body. And I'm willing to share them with you because I know you'll accept them as just that! 







1. Organic 3 Gut Pro probiotic powder. I like to eat fermented foods/drinks because they tend to have a wider spectrum and larger volume of probiotic strains, but I do take this supplement as well. It's a convenient way to pack in an extra punch of beneficial bacteria. And, with another human being inside me, I can't get too much of those good guys right now. I like this probiotic in particular because it doesn't have any fillers, allergens, additives- no unnecessary ingredients. I've seen it's effectiveness in everyone in my family, and over time it ends up being one of the least expensive probiotics on the market. I take this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

2. New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Multivitamin. Last time I was pregnant, I just took the prenatal vitamin someone handed me at a clinic. I had no idea what was in it. This time, I was excited to pick out my own, because I knew what I wanted. I chose this one because it's made from whole, cultured foods, it's non-GMO, and it even has a blend of sprouted seeds in it- so it's extra digestible. Plus, it's available on Amazon Prime and it never bothers my stomach a bit. I take one tablet with each meal.

3. Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil. After Hadley was born, I learned that I was very deficient in magnesium. For a great, great read on how crucial magnesium is, why it's so common to not get enough of it through our food and water, and what symptoms are related to magnesium deficiency, read this post by Cheeseslave. I love it. And I'm in love with magnesium!! I supplement with this magnesium oil, instead of a pill, because it's much more easily and efficiently absorbed via the skin (our largest organ) than the digestive system. Also, digestion changes a lot during pregnancy, which can make it even tougher to absorb magnesium from your food, multivitamins, etc. I use the oil almost daily, as I'm trying to correct my magnesium deficiency as much as I can before the baby comes, but I know that my pregnant body is currently using the bulk of nutrients I put in it and isn't able to store up much. I will still continue supplementing with magnesium oil after the baby is born. I chose this Ancient Minerals brand of magnesium oil because it's completely free of mercury, lead, arsenic, and fluoride. It works great and makes my skin so soft! There was a tingly-itchy feeling the first few times I used it, but that has gone away now. I spray it on my torso, arms, and thighs after I take a shower, leave it on for 20 minutes while I put in my contacts, dry my hair, etc, and then wipe it off with a warm cloth and put on some lotion. Make sure you moisturize the areas you put it on, because that will help with any dryness/itchiness.

On another- possibly hugely helpful- note, vitamin D and magnesium really helped tame my morning sickness! If you're interested in reading more about how morning sickness and magnesium are connected, check out this post by Wellness Mama or this post by Mommypotamus.

4. Green Pasture's Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Because I believe in healthy fats!! And I think cod liver oil is a healing superfood! I take this one because it's a fermented, raw, live food- it has not been heated. So, the life-giving nutrients (vitamins A and D, EFA/DHA, omegas) have not been destroyed by the manufacturing process. Along with magnesium, I was also deficient in vitamin D after Hadley's birth and throughout the first year of nursing, and cod liver oil is one of the best sources (after the sun- which I took full advantage of while pregnant this summer) for real, bioavailable vitamin D.

5. Naturally fermented sauerkraut -- not actually a supplement, but I think of it as something to "take" every day because it is such a nutrient-dense, probiotic and enzyme-rich, healing food. We make ours homemade, but I like this store-bought brand, too, because it's inexpensive and made using traditional methods, with only cabbage, water, and sea salt. We also like to make a sauerkraut salsa sometimes, which is a blend of cultured veggies and peppers that tastes really great with eggs for breakfast. Sauerkraut is high in B vitamins, also vitamins C and K, calcium, magnesium, fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper, and manganese. (The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients making it more nutritious and digestible than plain cabbage.) Honestly, I care the most about the live probiotic strains that are present in sauerkraut. These will help me give the baby a good start in life- a healthy and balanced gut, strong digestion, and a tough immune system. I shoot for having a spoonful (if not more) of kraut with each meal.

Whew! There you have it: all the supplements I eat/take. And if you made it through all that- you are incredible and awesome. Thanks for reading! I hope some little tidbit somewhere in there will be helpful to someone. If you have questions, please feel free to ask or write me an email! Not that I know a lot, but I'd be happy to try to answer them from my experience.


Blogged 1 year ago: Pecan Crusted Pies-- for gluten-free holiday baking
Blogged 2 years ago: Homemade Mayonnaise

Without realizing it, I have a 2012 resolution. I'm going to eat some kind of probiotic food every day.

You've been hearing about probiotics lately, haven't you? New commercials are popping up every day advertising some kind of balance your digestion probiotic formula. Just watch for them! The world is realizing what our aching tummies and weak immune systems have been missing... probiotics to the rescue! right? Only probiotic supplements can be expensive, and some of them may not be very effective. Did you know that you can get those extremely good for you probiotics in your food? That's what I've been doing!

So what do I mean by "probiotic food"? I mean fermented food. When you ferment something, you saturate it with beneficial bacteria, creating your own blend of probiotic magic. It's easy, inexpensive, and a streamlined (easily digestible) way to send those friendly little bacteria straight to your gut. These foods usually have a tart, sour, or pickled taste... but have no fear. Once you catch on to the flavor, you won't want a meal without some on the side. Take it from someone who throws a little sauerkraut or a pickle on everything these days.

Fermented foods sound old-fashioned... (ahem, sauerkraut) because they are! The idea is old. Tried and true. We used to ferment foods to preserve them through the winter before we had deep freezers, and, well, preservatives. We lost a valuable medicinal food when we abandoned the idea of fermenting stuff we wanted to keep. But it's not so very lost, is it? You can ferment today! Why not have a homemade pickle instead of a vitamin? Or some homemade root beer?
Here's a great page to read on why fermented food is suuuuuper good for you and how to start.


Some of you have been asking what methods I use to make my yogurt, kombucha, and other fizzy fermented delights, so here's a guide to the probiotics in my kitchen, what it is, how I made it, and my favorite way to use it. (click on the name for a link to the recipe)

Sauerkraut
fermented, finely shredded cabbage. i love sauerkraut with grass-fed beef hotdogs, mustard, and caramelized onions. you should also try it on top of a burger, with sweet squash or potatoes, or with a picnic style meal like cold chicken, deviled eggs, and chunks of cheese. 

Yogurt
you know. creamy, tangy, it's made by culturing milk. i love to use yogurt to make thick yogurt cheese, which can then be used just like cream cheese. you'll also get whey when you make the cheese, which is so handy for other fermenting projects. (pictured at the top of this post, in the kerr jar)

Kefir
a fermented milk drink, basically drinkable yogurt. so easy to make! we use it in smoothies, in scrambled eggs to make them extra creamy, as a substitute for buttermilk, and we pour it into our chili instead of sour cream. 

Water Kefir/ Kefir Soda Pop
a fermented, fizzy drink made by placing water kefir grains in sugar water and flavoring with fruit. just like soda, but with probiotic benefits. we keep it in a pretty swing-top soda bottle and drink it at dinner.

Kombucha
naturally carbonated sweet and tangy tea. i like to have mine fruit-flavored. now that i bought a kombucha culture starter (called a "scoby" or "mushroom"), i don't have to buy those expensive bottles at whole foods. 

Dill Pickles
garlicky, fermented cucumbers. i love to eat them with a burger, egg salad, or straight out of the jar. and there's another kind of pickle i will be telling you about very soon- a new favorite of mine!

Probiotic Mayo
whey is added to homemade mayonnaise to make it even more zesty and healthy. use it on sandwiches, in dips, or on a burger. 

there are still more things that i've cultured on my countertops that i have yet to tell you about, so stay tuned! you can probably tell, but i'm pretty excited about bacteria. my body just loves it!

what about you guys? are there any sauerkraut lovers out there? or kombucha addicts? have you ever fermented anything in your kitchen? (on purpose or by accident?)