Total Health Breakthroughs: Alternative Solutions for Mind, Body, and Spirit

As promised, here is a great sauce recipe.

One of the hardest foods to replace on a low carb diet is pasta. We all know the spaghetti squash trick, but when you just can’t get past the “I want real pasta” craving, this soy pasta does the trick. One ounce contains 15 grams of carbs, but the net carbs are very low because the fiber is so high at 12 grams per serving. I usually use the pasta as a side dish with a chicken or fish entree, and add salad and vegetable.

While pesto is traditionally served with pasta, it is delicious served as a topping on chicken or fish. I sometimes even spread it on a slice of nitrate-free deli turkey for a tasty low carb rollup.

Time to table: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

While I don’t recommend the cabbage soup diet plan, the soup itself is very nutritious and tasty — and is great to eat any time on a low carb diet. You can tailor the recipe to your likes and dislikes; for instance if you don’t care that much for green peppers, use green beans instead. If you want to make it even heartier, you could add a protein source such as ground or cubed beef or chicken. I’ve modified the recipe to include only organic ingredients.

Serves: 4

If you have high blood pressure, you more than likely have been told to try to lose weight and to reduce your sodium intake. But have you ever been told to reduce your sugar and starch intake? More than likely you haven’t. In fact, some people in the medical community believe that it’s a myth that high carb intake can contribute to insulin resistance and high blood pressure. What a disappointment.

Breakfast casseroles are handy for a make ahead low carb breakfast. Just cook at the beginning of the week and eat a slice or two each morning until it’s gone. Many casserole recipes call for wheat and cow’s milk dairy. Here’s a wheat and dairy free version for those who need to avoid either of those two allergens.

Serves: 8

Time to Table: 30 minutes

You certainly would have had to look far and wide to find a “no-spin” reporting zone a couple of weeks ago when the New England Journal of Medicine¹ published a headline-grabbing study comparing weight loss on one of three diets: (1) Mediterranean, (2) Low-Carb, or (3) Low-Fat.

I doubt if many headline writers or reporters bothered to read the entire 13-page study — they were too busy writing dramatic headlines. But God is in the details, and in this case, the details were pretty important. So let’s take a look at this fairly important study and talk about what it actually showed (and, also important, what it didn’t show).

Huevos Rancheros (ranch-style eggs) is a Mexican breakfast classic that is both versatile and hearty. While it is often served on tostadas, tortillas, or English muffins, you can leave those behind by serving the eggs on top of the beans for a delicious lower carb version!

Serves: 4

Healing Nutrient Spotlight

Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, selenium
Good source of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate, calcium, iodine, manganese, molybdenum

Thanks to Rachel Ray and the recent popularity of the Mediterranean Diet, it seems that everyone is on the EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) bandwagon.

Certainly, healthy oils and fats are now known to have many benefits when eaten as part of a low carb, anti-inflammatory diet. But many people are not aware that the biggest trick to keeping our intake of fats healthy, is to know whether they can be heated or not — and if so, to what temperature.

Sandwich wraps have been an American favorite for years thanks to the popularity of Greek and Mexican cuisine. These cabbage wraps provide a low-carb way to enjoy a warm, healthy sandwich with a South of the Border flavor.

Serves: 6

Time to Table: 60 minutes

If you’re a carb lover, now’s the time to get a handle on how many carbs you should be eating every day. This information is not just important for your waistline. It’s also important to control the potential for disease-causing inflammation that increases with high levels of circulating insulin and blood sugar — and that may cause cancer.

That was the result of a recent analysis of 39 studies that found that the greater a person’s intake of high glycemic index and high glycemic load foods, the greater the risks of certain types of cancer (endometrial and colon).¹

We’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon in our practice — many people are still afraid to eat fat. Even those who are experiencing the benefits of a low-carb, higher-fat diet can’t seem to make the change without having some guilt or concern about the butter on their sautéed vegetables or the cholesterol in their steamed shrimp.