Are There Heavy Metals in Protein Powder?

Why You Might Feel "Off" Right Now

Let’s rewind to the early 2000s—before “clean living” was trendy, before your feed was full of non-toxic swaps, and before I even knew what was lurking in everyday household products. Back then, I had a baby... and a problem. Every single laundry detergent I tried gave my sweet son a rash. I mean, I was ready for the sleepless nights, the diaper blowouts, the “I forgot my coffee in the microwave for the 3rd time” kind of days—but laundry detergent ? That one caught me off guard. At the time, “natural” or “non-toxic” products were few and far between—and crazy expensive. We were broke. I was lucky if I could afford Tide, let alone something with eucalyptus on the label. So I did what a determined mama does: I made my own. After years of tweaking, testing, and learning some things the hard way, I’ve landed on a laundry recipe that works. Like, actually works . It’s cheap, clean, easy to make, and has kept my family rash-free for years. Some Hard-Won Laundry Lessons: 💡 Skip the liquid DIY soap. Cooking it is a waste of time and space. The powder version works just as well and stores way easier. 💡 Don’t overstuff the washer. Max it out at ¾ full. If your clothes don’t have space to move, they don’t get clean. Period. 💡 Leave the washer door open. Always. Helps prevent mold and keeps your machine smelling fresh. 💡 Use an extra rinse. Especially if you have hard water like us. That buildup is real. 💡 Smelly clothes = still dirty. Clean laundry should smell like…nothing. If it stinks, it’s not clean (even if it smells like “Spring Breeze”). 💡 Ditch dryer sheets and liquid softeners. Full of junk. Instead, use 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar in the rinse cycle. Nope, your clothes won’t smell like a salad. Yes, it works like a charm. A Few Extra Laundry Boosts: Lemon essential oil – Brightens whites without bleach Lavender oil – Perfect for calming vibes on your bedding Tea Tree or Cedarwood – Use for dog beds or travel laundry to kill bacteria and bugs (yep, even bed bugs) Orange oil – A grease stain and post-gym lifesaver Okay okay, here’s the recipe you came for! ✨ DIY Laundry Powder Ingredients: 2 cups Borax 2 cups Washing Soda 2 cups Baking Soda (find in the baking aisle) 1 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated Instructions: Grate the Fels Naptha bar, mix everything together in a big bowl, and store in a cute jar or container with a scoop. Use 1 tablespoon per large load. Don’t forget to add that 1 tablespoon of vinegar in the rinse cycle for an easy, toxin-free softener! From one mom to another: you can keep your laundry routine simple, clean, and budget-friendly—without sacrificing performance. I’ve been doing this faithfully for years, and it’s saved our skin (literally) and our wallets. Let me know if you try it! 💛 time to make some more!

One thing you probably don’t hear is that a measles vaccine DOES NOT guarantee immunity. I know, because I have had more than 5 jabs personally. I actually lost count because over a 10 year period I had to get tested for antibodies multiple times and I always tested negative. I feared outbreaks, especially when I worked with children, but now I know this is not an illness to be feared. For those with generally good functioning immune systems, this illness will actually provide a system upgrade for your body! There are now known benefits of contracting the illness, including decreasing your chances of cancer. http://aonh.org/Blogs/Details/3 What I wish I knew then, what I know now is too much to list but here are a few things: --There is a homeopathic prophylactic protocol available. Homeoprophylaxis is a great option if you want support for measles instead of getting the vaccine or if you are someone like me who tests negative for antibodies. Dr. Isaac Golden suggests taking MORBILLINUM 1M once weekly for four weeks. I can help you obtain this if you want. Just contact me. --A little Vitamin A goes a long way! The best source is always getting your nutrients from your food, and the most potent and bio-available form of Vitamin A comes from Dairy, Eggs, and Liver (I do not recommend daily liver ingestion as this can lead to Vitamin A and Copper toxicity). If you choose to take Vitamin A as a supplement, make sure it’s good quality and you take with a fatty food (Seeking Health Brand Vitamin A Drops are a great option!). Also, too much Vitamin A can be toxic, you need the right dose for your body. To be fair most Americans are currently Vitamin A deficient, so this is hard to do, but definitely possible. Many medications, such as those for cholesterol will make you deficient in Vitamin A so talk to me or your doctor with questions. (Nutritional Therapy, Dr. Alan Gaby, p.69) There’s no need to fear this illness anymore, especially if you are healthy! There is hope and there are options!

Last week, I shared a link on social media to a podcast, Culture Apothecary . In this episode, Alex Clark interviewed Kim Witczak, a member of the FDA Psychopharmacologic Advisory Committee. Kim's role involves educating healthcare providers and advocating for greater transparency and regulations regarding prescriptions, particularly antidepressants. I have received feedback from a few followers and clients about their experience with antidepressants, and feel a need to address this topic of concern. First, I want to share that I understand the drive, need, and desire for these pharmaceuticals. Soon after I got married, I was hit with one big stressor after another and was really struggling. OK, I was a big mess. I was also trying birth control pills, and now know those were a contributing factor to my emotional state. I went to a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and he got me started on an SSRI, for a temporary time to get me back on track. Thankfully, he only had me on them for 2 months and I went off them, not noticing a difference and I did not experience any withdrawal effects. A few years later after the birth of my daughter, I was depressed. My doctor put me on Zoloft and I gained a ton of weight fast! I was also working out and barely eating because we were so poor we didn’t have much food. So I freaked out and went off them pretty quick. The only change I noticed while on them was the weight gain. Thankful no withdrawal symptoms, I wasn’t on them long. Fast forward a few years after the birth of my son which triggered the activation of a virus I had contracted years earlier. My doctor and I didn’t know at the time it was the virus, so he had me try multiple drugs including several different SSRIs. I really do think he didn’t believe anything I said, as a few times he mentioned my symptoms were in my head. I was in real pain and agony and doctors thought I was crazy. I cycled through several meds, and high doses. I started experiencing weird side effects from different meds. After researching the effect these meds have on the brain, I freaked out and went off cold turkey not knowing what I was doing. It landed me in bed for quite awhile, and a little suicidal. But to be honest, I was already in so much pain I couldn’t tell if it was withdrawals or my unknown disease symptoms. I did end up on a protocol that was manageable. A muscle relaxant, Flexeril, and a pain med. The pain med according to my doctor was mild, non habit forming, and safe as Tylenol. He put me on Ultram, aka Tramadol. I was taking this four times a day for over 6 years. Year five, I started to notice severe withdrawal side effects in between doses that would flatten me disabled on a daily basis. I was beginning to learn my doctor was not informed on the reality of this drug, IT IS habit forming, AND works similarly on the brain as an SSRi as an opioid. I knew I had to get off this drug. My doctor wasn’t helpful, so I set out on my own to wean, but weaning was torture, pure torture , so I made the the decision to go cold turkey. Yep, I’m a rip the band aid off kinda girl, and it was hell, pure hell. I was in bed for 2 weeks. I experienced akathisia. I saw demons crawling on my walls and roaches crawling on my skin. I wanted to rip my skin off. I had brain zaps (felt like my brain was beign electrocuted), nightmares, emotional rages, tears, and pain in my body like I have never felt before. My sweet husband nursed me with broth, protein shakes, and took care of the house and kids. I eventually was able to get outside in the sun and slowly weed the garden to get fresh air and movement back in my life. As I was beginning to feel a little more human again, I contracted one of the worst cases of poison ivy that I still have scars from! I ended up on high doses of steroids and felt all of those side effects and withdrawal symptoms. It was three months of agony, and to be honest I have no idea what kept me going, but I did it. I share all this to say, I understand the drive and desire to find a quick fix, a pill, hope for a cure for the hopelessness. I also understand what it means to have a doctor prescribe a drug and they are not informed of the science behind that drug, the consequences and then unintentionally lie to you about the drug when you ask questions. We have this beautiful country with rights to informed consent. If our doctors are not informed how can we be? The research is really our own responsibility. Now before a doctor recommends a drug to me or for my kids, I pause and research like crazy. A few years ago, my daughter was having a rough time. The first response our doctor had was to recommend an SSRi. I was desperate to get my daughter the help she needed and I trusted my doctor, but habit is, I need to do some research first. Boy, I am so thankful I did! I first listened to a podcast of Beverly Thomson who is from the UK who researches antidepressants and youth. Her work revealed more information than I was ready for. These meds come with a black box for a reason. Our doctor said the black box isn’t a worry, but the statistics and research papers say otherwise. We chose a different path for our daughter and it worked! With the rise of antidepressants there has been a rise of suicide in all ages! Not just youth. There are no papers to be found that prove lack of serotonin is a cause for depression. In fact, they prove that a surplus of serotonin causes psychotic breaks, suicide, and many other physical conditions like IBS-D, headaches, carcinoid, and fibrosis that leads to cancer. There are no diagnostic tests available for serotonin levels (except done during autopsy) therefore the testing for depression that deems a need for these drugs is actually a symptom survey that was actually drafted by Pfizer’s marketing team with no scientific research to back it up. What we are learning through the work of some amazing clinical psychiatrists like Dr. Chris Palmer from Harvard is that depression, anxiety, and psychosis can be managed through a healthy metabolism . The myth that mental health issues are a chemical imbalance has been exposed (that too, a lie generated by Pfizer's marketing team for zoloft to sell the drug not based in any science). Decreasing the body’s overall inflammation through diet and lifestyle is reversing mental health disorders even bi-polar and schizophrenia. I can’t wait for Dr. Palmer to conclude his current study and reveal the results! I personally experienced this mental health breakthrough! When I went carnivore a few years back, after 3 weeks I had a breakthrough! I was at such peace and calm, I didn’t even know I was living in constant anxiety. I was awake, alert, alive, and free! I am now sensitive to what I eat does affect my mental state. My inflammation levels do affect my anxiety levels. The gut and brain are tied together! The greatest thing about this understanding is knowing if I am feeling down and out: 1: It’s temporary 2: I can control my mood through my diet 3: I have control over my mental health through caring for my physical health. 4: I don’t have to depend on a drug (not proven by any science it works like people say it will work) and sometimes being sad or depressed is a good thing! If you are someone who is on a med and you are not happy with how you feel, I understand! I have been there! But DO NOT go off any medications without working side by side with your doctor, and if your doctor isn’t willing to work with you, find another one! There is so much I know now, I wish I knew then to help me through the weaning process. Supporting myself nutritionally, stress coping mechanisms, and an understanding community of people would have helped so much! Supporting our clients as they work with their doctors to wean off unwanted meds is a joy, we can’t do it alone. A team effort is beneficial for success! Choosing to stay on medication is ok too! You need to be in a healthy, safe place in your life to go through a weaning process. This is part of the conversation you need to have with your physician. It can take a toll on the body to detox and recover. It can take 3 months to 3 years to adjust. I do not recommend doing what I did and just quit. I could have ended up experiencing a stroke or worse-death. God had my crazy back. He miraculously brought me through my crazy detox. Talk about mercy, but if you’re reading this, you know better. Be better than me! If you are taking meds please take care of your body. These things will deplete you of essential nutrients that can make you end up feeling worse! I personally prefer to test my clients to see where they are at, but common nutrient deficiencies while taking these meds are B vitamins, CoQ10, Magnesium, Omega 3's, Zinc, Vitamin D, and Melatonin. Quality supplements are necessary while on these types of meds! Working with a client earlier this year as she was weaning off antidepressants was challenging but rewarding. At one point, she said I need to go back on these meds, I feel crazy. My response. “ That is courageous! Because you are going to go back on a med knowing full well how they will change your thinking and your health, and what it takes to go off them if you choose to do so in the future. There is no shame in making a choice when you are fully informed of the consequences, and that takes courage.” I truly do respect that! For those who want more information and go down the rabbit hole here are some resources for you to check out: Selling Sickness: SSRIs & The Side Effects Buried By Pharma | Kim Witczak Dependence Forming Psych Meds | Beverley Thomson - MP Podcast #125 The downfalls of serotonin & SSRIs https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/a-popular-theory-of-depression-wasnt-debunked-by-a-new-review-it-got-debunked-years-ago-363986 Dr. Chris Palmer MD book Brain Energy https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1808 https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/freud-fluoxetine/202003/the-story-prozac-landmark-drug-in-psychiatry https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/7-important-nutrients-depleted-by-psychiatric-drugs-antidepressants-antipsychotics-stimulants-benzodiazepines-induced-guide-vitamins-medications https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5874849/ https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/about_us/sponsored_resources/Nature%20Made%20Handout.pdf?trk=public_post_comment-text https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/drug-nutrient-interactions.html https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25218-antidepressant-discontinuation-syndrome

As a motivational tool, and honestly, it works! I like them better than seeing the number go down on the scale. We are a weight obsessed culture and so many people have the daily routine of stepping on the scale each morning to determine if they are successful or failing at life. To me that personally sounds miserable, maybe because as a woman that scale is always moving in one way or another. But hey! It’s supposed to!! I wish someone had told me that a long time ago. Anyway, the thing about weight is it’s all relative, every person has a different ideal healthy weight, that number for a woman should fluctuate throughout the month according to her cycle. That number also doesn’t really give you a good indicator of what’s really happening inside your cells. 1- Muscle weighs more than fat! 2-Water weighs a lot and you are more than 70% H20 and that amount fluctuates A LOT! 3-There are different types of fat and some you really really need!! 4-Fat is a protector and a provider and if you live in a toxic soup those cells are saving your life. Regardless we all have a tendency to measure ourselves by the scale's number, but what about the non- scale wins! When I first started the Carnivore Diet in January of 2022 in a desperate attempt to heal, I quickly lost 20 pounds. The non- scale victories outnumbered the amount of weight I lost though! I could think clearly again! My IBS resolved! I had learned that my body buzzed with anxiety my whole life, because all of a sudden it was gone! My joint and muscle pain began to disappear! I slept through the night! I also had sustainable energy and lost my need for a daily 2 hour nap to get through the day!! And so much more! Then the scale stopped moving down after 6 months. But, my clothes kept getting bigger and looser. Hmmmmm, that’s weird, my toes also were getting skinnier and my ankles were smaller. My experience with the scale and what was happening to my body and symptoms were not adding up. See, the scale is not always an indicator of success! This past summer after being in school and learning Biochemistry and how to use formulas for measuring food and increasing metabolism, ya know all those sciency health tools. I realized we were doing all the right things but the scale still wasn’t going down. So, I met with a Carnivore health coach, and it turns out the body functions a tad differently on a carnivore than a standard diet and I needed to adjust our formulas. I could go on and on about the new science I learned but I will spare you, I can feel my kids eyes rolling as I think about trying to tell them about it all. Anyway, I reevaluated the numbers of caloric input and basically doubled our food intake for both me and my husband. Yep, we doubled our food intake and guess what happened? He lost around 28 pounds and I lost 14 pounds in less than a month!!! Since then I haven’t stepped on a scale because I mentally want to stay a winner! Can you relate! Funny thing though, my clothes still fit the same. See sometimes what the scale says and what you experience just don’t add up. This past week though, a beautiful client blessed me with a gift. A sweatshirt that came with the apology saying “I’m sorry it’s a medium the only size they had but I really wanted to get it for you, maybe you can use it as motivation to keep going!” Well, I got home and it fit!!! It fit perfectly! I haven’t been able to fit in a medium sized anything in over 8 years! This is a big non scale win!!! I would bet you the numbers on my scale haven’t changed much but my clothing size has officially dropped! Woo hoo!! One way to stay motivated in your health journey is to stay focused on each and every individual win, because at the end of a week, a month, a year they add up!!! Just think, walking 1 mile a day for a whole year and you’ve done 365 miles! Staying consistent in the small things, adjusting or stacking habits along the way, and paying attention to EVERY SINGLE non scale win is a great way to keep your head in the game! When you are coming from a life of chronic illness, frustration, and a long time of battling, counting your non-scale wins and thanking God for them are a game changer! If you could dream up a list of non scale wins what would they be? A clear mind, more energy, better sleep, less pain, the ability to eat a donut and not land in bed for 2 days as a result! Time to dream my friend! Time to pay attention and notice your daily victories! You may even surprise yourself! #nonscalewin #nonscalevictory #weightloss #chronicillness #metabolism #carnivore #carnivorediet

“Americans have the shortest lifespan, the most chronic disease, the most avoidable deaths, despite spending the most on healthcare.” -Dr. Will Cole Ouch that hurts to think about. If you have listened to Casey and Callie Means on the Joe Rogan Podcast, or had a chance to listen to any of the roundtable discussions with the Senators and RFK Jr., or listen to any of the other revelations regarding the current state of health, you know the statistics are not in our favor. Faced also with the sad truth that our medical system is effective at dealing with chronic health issues. Doctors do a phenomenal job working with acute issues or trauma’s but they are sadly falling short in the area of chronic health. Did you know…. It takes approximately 10 years for a cancer cell to develop into a tumor, so what you do today affects your health tomorrow! The good news is we also live in a new ERA of health! We can take responsibility for our lives and be proactive with the new wave known as bio-observability! Bio-observability is using the tools we have available to observe our health now, so we can make changes to better our future. In Casey Means new book, Good Energy, she chats with an aerospace engineer from Space X about how they put tens of thousands of sensors all over their rockets! They are wanting to know immediately if something is not functioning correctly before the rocket experiences a system failure. So why do we as humans wait until we have a system failure before we attempt to correct course? You may have the tools in your hands now or even on your wrist, so you can be proactive today! If you have a piece of paper you can record what you eat and drink and track your moods and energy levels that will give you a glimpse into what your diet is doing for you. If you have a phone with Apps available like myfitnesspal or chronometer you can track your diet and activity to help you understand what you are really doing. What we actually do, and what we think we do often don’t match up and so seeing it on paper or on an app helps us to connect the dots. If you have a smartwatch or oura ring (depending on the watch)- you can track your movement, temperature, your heart rate variability, your respiratory rate, your monthly cycles if you’re a female, and my favorite- SLEEP!!!! Sleep is vital for all life healing processes and longevity. Sleep is one of the hardest things to track, because you are asleep and don’t know what’s going on. You want to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, you want to get at least 17% Deep sleep and 17% REM sleep each night. It’s not just about quantity but quality! Use your watch to see what you are actually doing, and if you’re not getting what you need, that’s an area I can work with you on! This past week my doctors office gave me and each of my family members a continuous glucose monitor as a 10 day free trial. Ask your physician if you too can get a free trial for a CGM! A CGM monitors your blood sugar levels 24 hours a day, it shows you what is happening in real time and if you pay close attention you will learn how food, stress, activity and so much more adjusts your blood sugar levels. Doctors are saying that more than 80% of today's chronic disease is rooted in metabolic dysfunction, which is tied closely to blood sugar levels. The first time I wore a 10 day meter, I learned that stress was not my friend, my diet held my blood sugar flat and stable, but every day on the drive heading into work my sugar would spike so fast the alarm would go off! My job at the time was an incredibly stressful situation, and my body was feeling it. Seeing the spike and then drop hours later, revealed to me that I needed to make a change as my life was causing strain on my physical body! Blood sugar spikes and reactive drops are dangerous to cellular health. This past week, I learned that I can hold a stable blood sugar level but one sweet will raise my levels as it should, but I struggled to come back down to normal. Hmm. I also noticed feeling very anxious, my thoughts unfocused and heart racing when my sugar was high! Because it stayed high for longer than I would have preferred I would go walk, and within a 10 minute walk I would bring my number back to normal again. Movement after eating is a very efficient blood sugar regulating hack! Using the few tools or sensors we have available to monitor our health can help us be proactive today, motivate us to make life changes, and hopefully avoid the illness that was a potential threat glaring at us a decade later. The other wonderful thing about using these sensors is that if we are already struggling with health issues, they can give us more clues and indicators or what’s happening and where in our lives, so we can heal more efficiently and effectively! Join me in this new ERA of Bio-Observability!!! Take action today, so you can heal more effectively and or don’t have to suffer the consequences tomorrow.

October 2011, a beautiful sunny day, a house full of kids and babies of all ages, the sights, sounds and smells of fall in the air, I was soaking in the joy of the day while sitting on the floor feeding 3 babies their lunch. It was a busy week for my in-home child care due to fall break, and loving every moment of it. In an instant, I felt a severe quickening in my gut to wake a baby up from his morning nap mid spoonful of food into a 4 month olds mouth. The napping 13 week old baby boy never woke up. He had a silent mrsa infection in his gut that spread to his lungs like a wild fire and as I performed cpr fluid was pouring out of his mouth and nose. He was pronounced dead a few hours later at the hospital. Summer 2024, my cousin informed me that my dad had contracted cancer and was given a year to live. I had been estranged from my family for almost 16 years. Since 2020, I had tried testing the waters with texts, emails, notes in the mail to see if reconciliation was possible. One of my greatest deepest heart prayers since December of 2008 was a reconciled family. I had been praying and asking the Lord what to do, we had a year to get this prayer answered! Time was running out. My cousin called me and said dad was admitted to the hospital and wasn’t doing well, she didn’t have many details, but I knew we didn’t have a year. I told my husband we need to go see him now! We rented a car and made the 16 hour drive to their town, but I didn’t know what hospital he was at, so I called everyone I could think of, but no one took my calls. Finally, as we were driving straight into a tropical storm we reached their city limits and my brothers called and said they wouldn’t tell me where he was and I wasn’t allowed to see my dad per my mothers command. In a state of shock we made our way home, but we took our time. I woke up 2 days later in our hotel room and the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, he is with me now. Moments later my uncle accidentally butt dialed me and told me the news. Also, there would be no memorial service for him. September 2024, a dear friend texted me pleading for prayer for her mama. She got very sick while out of state visiting others and she needed critical care as well as transportation back home to get the critical care she needed. It took a week to get her home, God provided, then things went south again so we prayed, she would turn around. Moments and glimmers of hope in the midst of trials. I knew in my heart this was her mama’s end, but I was holding onto hope because we serve a God of miracles! After a roller coaster in the hospital she passed this past week. No one is safe from experiencing grief. Nothing in the world can prepare you for grief. Nothing I hold fast to the belief that when God formed us in His image, he designed us with the intention to live. We were created for life! Therefore, processing disappointment, death, or betrayal feels so foreign and unnatural because it goes against what is encoded in our dna! Loss goes against our very nature! I am not here to address the question as to why? I am not convinced that is a question that can be answered in the here and now. I am here to offer practical support to help you get through. Grief is not a mental disorder, sobbing uncontrollably is not an indicator you are mentally ill. It’s a natural response to loss. Different tears produce different chemical processes to help your body stabilize and balance itself. The uncontrollable flow of tears are your body’s desperate way to deal with loss and bring back balance to every cell in your being. Don’t hold back. You will eventually stop crying all the time as your body attempts homeostasis, but squashing or pushing down this emotional response will only force the body to try and recalibrate a different way, and sometimes that manifests as auto-immunity, and possible organ diseases. Not crying is a shock response, and is ok as well! Your body may need a different way to process, like exercise, hitting a punching bag, talking it out. Not crying is also not an indicator that something is wrong with you, it just means your body is looking for a different means to balance itself. Paint the picture, go for the run, do something physical. Some people can’t eat and others want all the food! You may switch back and forth between moments of being famished and wanting to fast for eternity. That’s ok, in a stressful state digestion is not a priority for your body, be gentle with yourself. You don’t need to eat, just stay hydrated! Broths and soups are a good gentle source of supportive nutrients that bring not only comfort to the body but the soul too. Movement, there are moments your body needs to just do nothing and rest, and moments when movement is key to your grief process. If possible whether you sit or walk it helps to get outside in the fresh air, especially get into the sun (even cloudy skies provide enough light source to calibrate cells), and listen to nature. Some other practical ways to support yourself or others while walking through grief: -Minerals! Stress depletes your body of minerals so add some electrolytes to your water. -Stay Hydrated! -Slow down and breathe deep -Homeopathy is a great support tool! My favorite go to for stress is ignatia. -Give yourself time and space to reflect and process. -Be with other people you feel safe around In the moments of loss, grief, disappointment, betrayal, and excruciating hurt, it helps to remember we have a wonderful loving God who longs to hold our hurts for us. He longs to hold us. In every season of grief, I will always hear the words, "you're not acting how I would expect you to act." - I mean come on, that's the dumbest thing to say, don't ever judge HOW someone is manifesting their grief. There is no right way. The only right way to support someone in a time of grief, is to offer your tears, your ears, your acts of kindness, and your understanding. I leave you with this : We are gifted with the promise to cling to in Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

My whole life and in every doctors appointment, I was always told that I needed to figure out how to decrease my stress levels. Haha! Very funny, I would think that is ONE THING I don't feel like I can control in my life, let alone even know how to decrease my stress. I am a part of the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and suck it up buttercup" generation, we weren't taught about stress. Doctors alone stressed me out, the fact that I felt horrible all the time and then they basically tell me that my issues are all my fault sucked hard. That alone caused stress!!! (Turns out years later, I found a better physician who actually listened to me. She ran tests and found out it wasn't the "psychological stress" I had been told for years I was suffering from , but a virus I had been battling.) So yeah, if you ever wanted to throat punch a doctor because you didn't get answers and were told it's all in your head, I can relate! What I have since learned is that stress comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. Some of it is out of our control and some of it is. Stress can be bad and cause serious health issues, but it can also be good and help us thrive in life. Confused yet? Truth is stress can be very complicated, but you can use it to your advantage! For example, working out/ exercise is a form of intentional stress you put on your body. This temporary discomfort of pushing your body to do new things will strengthen your health physically and mentally. Other forms of intentional stress that have potential to help you are fasting, cold plunges, or sweating it out in a sauna. Being bored is an excellent example of a stressor today that has beautiful benefits on brain health. The key is to know when and how stress can be used for your personal advantage. It works very differently between men and women, so ladies don't compare yourself to the men in your lives! Even working out there is fine line between beneficial stress and going too far. This good type of stress actually has a name too! It's called Hormesis, being intentional about the right amount of good stress in your life can actually help balance your stress hormones and reduce inflammation in your body! So it's not all bad! And learning how to use good stressors to your advantage is a key to health and longevity. ****This is a picture of me walking my dog Lukas, if you zoom in on my face you will see I am not happy go lucky or relaxed. I am stressed. Haha! First, I don't like having my picture taken. Second, my dog is a butthead. We have to find secluded places to walk because he is not friendly to others and refuses to walk in a straight line! So, I am always having to keep on my toes and just let him run circles around me. He probably runs 4 miles to my 1 mile! But this is my hormesis, I am moving my body, pushing myself and I always feel better afterwards! I have learned I can go up to 4 miles, but I have learned much more than that and I will suffer the consequences of inflammation and pain. Learning to listen to my body and honor it's threshold is sacred, holy and a constant daily rhythm that has led to healing and moving from a place of survival to thriving! If you want help figuring out how to reduce the bad stress, balance your nervous system or include some hormesis in your life, we are here for you!

One of my first nutrition classes covered the history of food through the ages, as well as the cultural traditions and ways of preserving food through the centuries. Our first assignment was to chose and make a food using one of these methods ! Yikes! Confession time, being in the kitchen is so freaking stressful for me! I have rarely found joy in that place. My husband baffles me, as it's his time to relieve stress and the kitchen has the total opposite effect on me! I thank God everyday for the last 24 years, He gave me a man that likes to cook! I like to choose the ingredients just not put them together. It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship. So when we were given the assignment to attempt an ancient method of producing a food, that caused my anxiety to soar! Not gonna lie, I tried to find the easiest one to do. Which was sourdough. I have a little bit of a rebellious tendency when it comes to trends and fads, since 2020 everyone was making this bread, I of course didn't want to appear as someone who fell in with the trendy crowd, but I bit my pride and went for it. An Easy A, right?!?! A friend provided me with a strong starter and wished me well with my new baby, clueless like a first time parent, I named him Sam. Sam was amazing he grew and provided me another good starter I named her Betty, and finally got fed up with managing two starters so I combined them, they had a son named Gerald. I have no idea why we named him this, it just fit at the time. After trying my best to make a good loaf, ( I NEED that A+) I eventually found a recipe that worked! I only make one kind of loaf (sometimes I add cheddar and jalapenos). The thing about this stuff, this dough, the process, is that it forces you to slow down. You can not rush the microbes eating their fill. I discovered the longer I waited and worked with a loaf the yummier it became and it brought so much Joy to everyone who ate it! Not a single complaint or whine. If you make food for a family and kids you know what I mean here, there is always pushback in your cooking from someone, but not this beautiful sour squishy moist deliciousness. It began to crack through my stress and release expectation and joy in my kitchen. It's been a gateway to healing for me. Something I never expected. It's official I am a sourdough convert. It has created new community for me, from passing on to me my first starter (thank you Ashley), to passing it on to others and then being able to make loaves and bless friends with them! No wonder bread has been a staple for so long. It really does bring joy. I still don't get creative with it and have found one recipe that works for me. Maybe one day when life actually slows down I will do more with it, but I am content with my one way. Don't worry this isn't a recipe blog, it's just I literally had three people ask me for my recipe today! So now I have an excuse to send them to my website! Suckers! haha! The Gist of how the magic is made: Ingredients: ( I couldn't find a recipe with cups, so this gave me an excuse to buy a kitchen scale) 140 grams of sourdough starter 500 grams flour- I use King Arthur Organic Bread Flour 340 grams of room temperature filtered pure water -no tap water! 10grams salt- we prefer Redmonds Real Salt Fine Ground (If you want to add to the yum factor 6 oz cubed cheese and 2 medium sliced jalapenos) In Bowl: Mix together 330 grams of the water, all the starter and the flour then knead together for like 5 minutes Let it rest for 1 hour Sprinkle Salt over the top and the other 10 grams of water and mix in (this is my favorite part feels so weird!) Rest 40 minutes Stretch and Fold 4 times and rest 20 minutes ( do this again 3 more times) I begin my loaves in the morning and let them rise the rest of the day on the counter, then I put in the fridge overnight First thing the next morning I take out of fridge and put on counter and wait about an hour Pour dough or force it onto a floured counter surface and roll into a ball gently (If you opt for cheese and peppers before forming into a ball stretch into a flat rectangle and sprinkle 1/3 cheese and peppers, fold in half add more cheese and peppers, fold again and finish sprinkling with what have left then roll into a ball- if you don't understand these directions don't worry I didn't either I had to to youtube videos to figure it out) Place in greased or parchment papered loaf pan and let rise a few hours before putting in oven I preheat my oven to 450F once it's hit that temp, I turn it down to 400F and put in my bread and let cook for 35 minutes. Take out, slather in butter honey whatever gets your fancy and experience the Joy!