A Year of Keto and a Return to Primal
This week I would like to share my experience with the ketogenic diet. I am sharing because keto is all the rage today, and in some ways, rightfully so. It can be a very powerful nutrition plan for treating epilepsy, Alzheimer's, some forms of cancer, and for losing weight.
Dairy: Eat it or Leave it?
I recently received a fantastic reader inquiry regarding dairy (keep those questions coming!). There is a quite a bit of dissension in the ancestral health world regarding dairy. For example:
Paleo enthusiasts avoid dairy.
Primal enthusiasts enjoy dairy, in moderation.
Keto/LCHF enthusiasts generally think dairy is great!
Broccoli Hummus
I am in love with the beautiful vegetables coming out of our local Alaskan farms. The midnight sun really sweetens up our produce; the cucumbers, snap peas, kohlrabi and cherry tomatoes taste like candy.
Eat Fat and End Diets
Like many people in the United States, I spent most of my adult life on a diet. Sometimes the diets would "work" for a little (I would lose weight), but the process sucked. I was always hungry and fixated on my next meal. This lifestyle was so difficult to sustain that I was constantly on the lookout for the true answer to effortless weight maintenance. Fortunately, in my quest for the next best diet, I found Eat Fat Get Thin and The Primal Blueprint. Thanks to Mark Hyman and Mark Sisson, I learned that fat is actually our body's preferred energy source. The Standard American Diet emphasizes utilizing glucose for energy, which often equates to empty calories that leave you hungry, with your body producing too much insulin. Too much insulin equals inflammation; too much inflammation equals disease.
Cauliflower Hummus
If you run in a similar social media circle I'm sure you have heard "Cauliflower is the new kale!" Well, how about, "Cauliflower is the new garbanzo bean!"? Perhaps not quite as catchy, but I will explain why that is my phrase of the day.
Hummus has been off the table for me since I began my Primal Health Coach certification and I learned more about legumes. While they don't affect everyone in the same way, they can be problematic and they totally unnecessary for optimal health.
Play with Your Food!
A few years ago my diet looked like this:
- Breakfast: green smoothie
- Mid-morning snack: protein shake
- Lunch: baked potato topped with cottage cheese, salsa, and broccoli
- Afternoon snack: boiled eggs and an apple
- Dinner: Salad and fish
- Bedtime snack: protein bar or shake
Rediscover Play!
If you are anything like me a few years ago, you are tired. Physically tired from working out. Mentally tired from thinking too much about food and what should or should not go into your mouth. Emotionally tired when your pants feel tight or if the scale isn’t budging. This was me pre-primal, followi
Moose Burgers and Sweetener-Free Ketchup
One of Alaska’s primal perks is the abundance of clean, beautiful, wild game. Many Alaskans have extra freezers in which they store a year’s supply of moose, caribou and salmon. While spring is an amazing time of year up north, it also coincides with diminishing vacuum-sealed freezer goodness. I currently find myself both hoarding what meat we have left and day dreaming about eating it every night- particularly in the form of moose burgers.

