My blog has been really quite this past year. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I have been growing my coaching practice and also shifting more content sharing to social media platforms. That being said, I am still going to use the blog to share resources and ideas.
I wanted to share a resource for my thyroid/Hashimoto’s clients, but really this is a great resource for anyone with autoimmune disease or someone just looking for clean recipes.
I’m delighted to introduce you to two amazing nutrition experts who have created a long-awaited, groundbreaking, and scientifically supported cookbook containing over 100 “food as medicine” recipes for those with Hashimoto’s (autoimmune hypothyroidism) – The Essential Thyroid Cookbook: Over 100 Nourishing Recipes for Thriving with Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.
Lisa Markley is a registered dietitian nutritionist with over a decade of nutrition and culinary experience and Jill Grunewald is an integrative nutrition and hormone coach who’s been in practice since 2008 successfully guiding her clients and students with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s to health and vitality.
They both know first-hand the challenges of Hashimoto’s and have discovered that the most impactful way to reduce symptoms and improve thyroid and immune health – for themselves as well as their clients – is to focus on the sound nutrition and lifestyle strategies outlined in this first-of-its kind cookbook. They’ve been working on it for five years and now they are (and I am) excited to finally share this essential resource with you.
The mouthwatering recipes are easy enough for any home cook, appeal to a broad variety of palates (Hashimoto’s or not), and are thoughtfully crafted to perfectly translate thyroid- and immune-supportive nutrition recommendations to your plate.
If this weren’t enough, The Essential Thyroid Cookbook is a book-within-a-cookbook. It contains a substantive, rigorously researched educational component focused on practical ways you can maximize nourishment to help restore your thyroid and immune system, or better yet, help to prevent thyroid dysfunction to begin with.
For anyone who has wanted to cook confidently for optimal thyroid and immune function, this is your definitive guide. The Essential Thyroid Cookbook belongs on the shelf in every kitchen of anyone diagnosed with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s.
There is a free book bonus available until Sept. 19th
So we have had an overabundance of broccoli at our house. My husband and I mixed up items on our grocery list and on the same day I bought a few heads of organic broccoli from Earthfare (they have had it on sale all month for $0.99) and he bought two huge bags of organic broccoli florets at Costco. Our family loves it and we eat it just steamed as a side for dinner a lot, but steamed broccoli at every meal was getting old. So I decided to recreate one of my favorite childhood foods that my mom always made for get-togethers. Vegetable pizza, you know they type made on packaged Crescent rolls. Well, seeing that our family is gluten-free and pretty low grains, I decided to try a grain free version. It turned out yummy…only thing I would change is to spread the dough thinner.
grain free veggie pizza
Author: The Sprouted Life
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
2 c. almond flour
1 c. arrowroot
1/2 c. water
2 eggs
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt
chopped veggies of choice (i used broccoli, red bell peppers, black olives and carrots)
1 package of organic cream cheese 8oz. (I used organic valley)
1/2 cup organic full fat sour cream
2 T. gluten free ranch mix (i used Penzey’s ranch blend which is just spices, simply organic also makes one)
Instructions
Mix all the dough dry ingredients in a bowl (almond flour, arrowroot, baking soda, sea salt).
Add in eggs, water and olive oil and mix by hand.
It will be a wetter dough.
Spread evenly on a baking stone or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
I used a spatula and then put a little olive oil on my hand to help even press the dough.
Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until dough is starting to brown up (cooking time will vary a little with dough thickness).
Remove from oven and let cool.
Prep veggies while dough is baking, by chopping into small pieces.
Mix the sour cream, cream cheese and ranch mix.
Once dough is cool, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the crust and then top with veggies.
By the time I get to Friday mornings, I have pretty much run out of inspiration for breakfast. While I typically eat a protein smoothie, I am always looking for ideas to feed my growing boys, that are loaded with healthy fats and fiber, but eggs get boring quickly and my oldest doesn’t love protein smoothies.
I am fairly adamant that my kids eat a hearty breakfast (not sugar and carbs), like the typical SAD (Standard American Diet) of cereal, toast, bagels etc. So finding variations can be challenging. One of their current favorite breakfasts are my little protein bites.
They are loaded with gluten free oats, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, dried blueberries, flax seed, chia seeds, sliced almonds and coconut oil. While they look like little muffins, they are actually dense, almost crumbly little bites, that pair wonderfully with coffee. Because of the fiber and fat, they are incredibly filling and can easily keep you fueled until lunch.
A few benefits are that they are easy to make, freeze well and can travel well as snacks. I almost always have all the ingredients on hand…besides the dried blueberries, but I live super close to our local Earth Fare and they always have them in their bulk food section. You can also easily substitute ingredients: chopped up dried apricots or dates, sunflower seeds, pecans etc. Be creative with them!
Protein Breakfast Bites
Author: The Sprouted Life
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1 1/2 cups gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup wild blueberries
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 350º F
Lightly grease a mini muffin pan with coconut oil (mine holds 32 muffins)
Add all the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate them
In a separate bowl mix together remaining wet ingredients (coconut oil, vanilla & maple syrup)
Pour slowly into food processor and pulse until everything is well combined
Fill mini muffin pans and press mixture until it is well compacted and just below the top of the pan
Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown
Cool before removing from the pan
*If they are hard to remove, twisting them around in the pan in a circle typically releases them
One of my favorite childhood memories was making chocolate chip cookies with my mom. We used to make the traditional Toll House recipe off the back of a bag of Nestle chocolate chips. While things have changed dramatically in our house from those day (no flour, no white sugar and I use organic, fair trade dark chocolate chips) I still cherish those memories, and l love sharing that tradition with my three little boys.
I have both of Danielle Walker’s Paleo Cookbooks: Against All Grain & Against All Grain: Meals Made Simple and to this day, they are two of my favorite cookbooks that I own (I have a slight cookbook addiction). I originally started making her real-deal chocolate chip cookies, but over time, just adapted it to better suit our families taste and to simplify – in my world, less steps and less dishes are always better. If you have never checked out her cookbooks, you should. She has lots of fun recipes and they are great inspiration.
A few of the changes I made was that I use coconut oil instead of palm shortening (which I don’t typically have on hand). I cut out the honey (you can add it back in if you want sweeter cookies, but if you do, omit the extra tablespoon of coconut oil – it was only added to add in a little extra moisture). I have made them adding in an extra egg, and no honey or extra tablespoon of coconut oil, and that variation works well also. I like this version best with just the coconut sugar, because it is just lightly sweetened. I also just mix the cookies by hand, my food processor is dying, and I found that I didn’t need to pull out an extra appliance.
Another thing to note is that these cookies don’t have a great self life, so if you plan to keep them a few days, throw them in the fridge. They do freeze well though.
Our Favorite Cookie – Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Adapted from Against All Grain Cookbook
Serves: 24
Ingredients
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil
1/2 cup of coconut sugar
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups blanched almond flour
4 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and eggs, until smooth.
Add in the almond flour, coconut flour*, baking soda and sea salt and mix again until combined.
Once well mixed, stir in chocolate chips
Roll into balls and slightly flatten on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Bake 9-12 minutes until slightly brown on the edges.
*with coconut flour, I use a spoon and swirl mine through a mesh strainer to eliminate any clumps.
**if you would like to make your cookies sweeter, you can add in honey, (1 – 2 Tbsp). If you do add honey, omit the extra tablespoon of coconut oil.
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One of the great things about these cookies is that they are simple, quick and I literally always have all the ingredients on hand (most of these ingredients I buy from bulk sources anyway)
My favorite protein powder for smoothies is chocolate…but since we have been doing a lot of smoothies I have been trying to switch it up. I decided to grab a jar of the Vega Vanilla Protein & Greens the last time it was on sale at our local Earthfare. While I like to use fresh greens in my smoothies, this is a great options with 2 servings of greens included in the powder. This is my favorite smoothie combination that I have created using this powder.
Strawberry Vanilla Chia Smoothie
Author: The Sprouted Life
Ingredients
handful of fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup of coconut milk (if using canned, use half cup + a half cup of water)
1 heaping scoop of Vega Vanilla Protein & Greens Powder
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp raw cocoa nibs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
dump all the ingredients into a high speed blender. enjoy!
At the end of October, my husband and I decided to do a 21 day cleanse. We didn’t follow any mainstream cleanses in which they try to sell product (I am not a fan), but we basically followed the principles set by Dr. Alejandro Junger and his Clean Gut Cleanse & his blog for a bunch of recipes. Basics of it, were a protein smoothie for breakfast, lunch was main meal of veggies, protein and clean fat and then dinner was an entree salad + plus no eating from dinner until breakfast. My husband and I loved it, and now we crave our morning smoothies instead of a heavier breakfast. I thought I would share my favorite smoothie combination that I would pick over any others.
Key ingredients:
Fiber: Flax seed and Chia Seeds
Vitamins, minerals and protein: pumpkin seeds, roasted cocoa nibs, brazil nuts, spinach, unsweetened almond milk and organic chocolate protein powder
Sweetener: blueberries
Because of all the fiber and protein, this smoothie is incredibly filling and satisfying.
Hi, I am Jennifer and I am a Functional Medicine Health Coach that is passionate about helping busy moms simplify their family & athletes’ health through clean eating & meal prep
