Thanksgiving Dessert For All

Medical Weight Loss in Melbourne, FL

Thanksgiving, a day of stuffing our faces. Undoubtedly the number one diet cheat day of the year. However for some it can’t be a cheat day. For those with food allergies and diet restrictions, this time of year can be difficult. Imagine having to skip some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditional sides or saying no to dessert. It’s tough to have food sensitivities in general but around the holidays it can be extra hard. Luckily advances have been made over the past few years in the culinary world that have enabled us to create gluten, dairy and sugar-free recipes that are delicious.

There are tons of great websites out there dedicated to people with food restricted diets or allergies. I pulled three recipes from popular websites below that are great for people with gluten allergies, dairy intolerance and diabetes. I have tried them all and they are delicious.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

This recipe comes from amyinthekitchen.com

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

frosting

  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, sugar, canola oil, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
  4. Pour 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time into the wet ingredients making sure to fully combine before adding more.
  5. Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of the dough onto the parchment paper.
  6. Flatten out the mounds by smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. (The shape they are going into the oven is pretty much the shape they will be when they are done)
  7. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
  8. Remove from the oven, transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool before glazing.
  9. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and yogurt until smooth. (I like to make my frosting thicker so I use less yogurt)
  10. Frost each cookie and enjoy!

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pie

This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com

  • 1 – 9 inch pie crust
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
  • 6 packets of granulated artificial sweetener ( I recommend Truvia)
  • 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup evaporated milkPreheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  1. In a medium bowl whisk together egg, sugar substitute, and pumpkin pie spice until well blended. Add pumpkin and milk to egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell.
  2. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until set in center.

Dairy free pumpkin mousse

This recipe comes from laurenkellynutrition.com

  • 1 cup Silk Vanilla Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative
  • 1 15 ounce can pumpkin
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup 100% maplesyrup
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl
  2. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for an hour to thicken ( recommend doing this)
  3. Serve and enjoy!

 

Pedicures – More Than Just Pretty Feet

Manicures and Pedicures in Melbourne, FL

Between standing on your feet all day in the kitchen or dashing from store to store, this week can be tiring on your feet. Give them and yourself a little love with a pedicure. Your feet will feel smooth, look great, and showcase a stunning winter polish. Pedicures however, can do more than just make your feet look pretty. They can be very helpful to those with foot pain.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, regular pedicures can improve circulation, reduce tension, and reduce pain. It can be especially helpful for people who are affected by diabetic and arthritic foot pain. If this is the case you should consult with your doctor prior to your appointment as well as the pedicure specialist to see what options will benefit you the most.

Pedicures can also be a great asset to all you runners out there. Whether you are running marathons or are constantly pounding away on the treadmill, your feet could be suffering. Regular pedicures are great to keep your toe nails at a healthy length so they don’t rub against your sneaker, help with nagging calluses, and keep the skin soft. According to RunnersWorld.com, they suggest going to a qualified Medispa as opposed to getting a pedicure by a podiatrist. You will probably pay less and get a more thorough treatment if you can find a well-trained pedicurist operating out of a health spa.

Essentials, a five star Medispa offers several different types of pedicures as well as beneficial add-on treatments for everyone, including a paraffin wax treatment. This unique treatment helps with foot pain by trapping heat near the skin, which penetrates stiff and sore joints. According to LiveStrong.com, the warmth of the paraffin wax improves circulation to the feet. The wax and mineral oil softens rough skin, making it an ideal preliminary to a pedicure or a relaxing treatment for those who work on their feet for long periods. It is also used as a therapeutic treatment for arthritis, muscular pain or joint sprains.

Some of Essentials most popular Pedicures are listed below. If you have questions or concerns talk to one of Essentials amazing, well trained pedicure specialist. They can help find what treatment will benefit your feet the most and help address any foot pain concerns you may have.

Seasonal Crimson Cider Smash pedicure

Begin with a robust hot apple cider soak with Epsom salts, Vitamin E & Sweet Almond oils. Next, our pecan-whiskey and rice bran oil brown sugar scrub exfoliates away rough skin, leaving a glint of shine and moisture. Enjoy a soft, silky light body milk lotion application, enveloped in notes of warm, peppery caramel. Finishes with your choice of color polish.

Signature Farmhouse Fresh pedicure

Soak in a whole milk foot bath, then scrubbed down with a citrus grass salt scrub, slathered in agave nectar and ending with a honeysuckle blood orange custard rub-down. Finishes with your choice of color polish.

Sports buff pedicure

A warm milk soak soothes tired feet, followed by a reviving citrus foot scrub, oh-so-good foot massage with arnica gel which cools and relieves, a wrap in hot towels follows and finishes with a hydrating rubdown & nail buff or full-color polish.

Hot milk & honey pedicure

A spa favorite begins with a nectar milk foot soak, followed by a whipped honey salt scrub, a softening honey heel glaze follows and a sweet cream slather. Finishes with your choice of full-color polish.

Bourbon cowgirl pedicure

A skin softening whole milk foot soak followed by a brown sugar bourbon scrub, a hydrating heated honey foot wrap and finishes with a good slathering of sweet cream! Includes a full-color polish or nail buff.

Medi-Pedi

Our fully-loaded pedicure! Once buffed, towel steamed, scrubbed, soaked in warm milk, clipped and filed, your feet are cream-drenched, wrapped in hot towels, rubbed until they are putty in our hands, sonically buffed with our Clarisonic Pedi, callus conquered, paraffin dipped and color polished or buffed to perfection.

 

The Health Benefits Of Adding Coconut Oil To Your Diet

Coconut oil has been incorporated into recipes everywhere and is the highlight of several popular diet programs today. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, but eating fat has become quite a popular tool for losing weight. The added consumption of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) has led to greater losses in fat tissue. It helps with weight loss by increasing fat burning and mental clarity.  It also burns off quickly and metabolizes fast. Sounds great but not without its scrutiny. It has become a controversial subject among medical professionals, because coconut oil is high in saturated fats. Some of them are worried that it will lead to heart disease while others have discussed its effectiveness on weight loss.

In a journal published in the US Library of Medicine by a group of college physicians at Columbia, they examined this subject. After the study they conducted with a group of men and women aged 19-50, they found that adding MCT oil, like coconut oil, to your weight loss program can be done without adversely affecting metabolic risk factors.

Coconut oil does not only aid in weight loss it makes your food taste great and makes cooking easy. Instead of cooking spray and olive oil apply a little coconut oil to your pan. Your eggs will slide off with ease, chicken won’t stick and your non-stick pans will feel like they’re non-stick again. When trying to add coconut oil into your diet, a good way to start is first thing in the morning. Start your day with a boost of energy while revving up your metabolism, with your morning coffee.  As with starting any diet, discuss it with your doctor first.  There are several diet programs out there that incorporate high fat into them. The coffee recipe below is my favorite and a staple in high fat diets, like the Ketogenic diet.

Medical Weight Loss in Melbourne, FL

Bulletproof coffee

There are slight variations all over the internet but the basic ingredients are the same. You will need your favorite coffee, coconut oil and grass fed butter. This coffee will fill you up, aid in fat loss and boosts your energy levels.  All you do is blend the softened ingredients together. I like to add heavy cream and some cinnamon. Sounds unappealing, but lookout Starbucks, this is the most delicious coffee you will ever have.

  • 2 cups coffee
  • 2 tablespoons grass fed unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon (vanilla extract also tastes great)

 

Coconut Oil Craze

Medical Weight Loss in Melbourne, FL

Coconut oil has become quite the trend these days. It’s been added to hundreds of beauty products on the market. You may be thinking, what is coconut oil and why do all these companies want us to use it?  Coconut oil is derived from the extracted meat of mature coconuts. It’s an amazing moisturizer and can gets deeper into your skin and hair follicles than most products out there. Before use it must be softened first, as it hardens quite substantially in the fridge, where it needs to be stored. It’s all natural, affordable, and full of nourishing benefits for your beauty regime. Below are just a few of the many beauty uses coconut oil has.

Home Shaving Cream

Once softened, apply to your legs and underarms as if you were applying lotion. Then use your razor as normal. It’s all natural, destroys the growth of microorganisms, naturally anti-fungal and hydrates extremely well. Bonus, it naturally smells great. Imagine the chemicals they put in our normal shaving creams that make them florescent pink and smell like a margarita.

Make up remover

Soften the coconut oil, make sure it’s at room temperature. Swab it across your eye makeup with a cotton swab or makeup pad. It will vanish with ease, even waterproof mascara! Coconut oil is very high in saturated fat and is greasy so make sure you wash your face immediately after. As with applying anything to your skin the first time, always try a small test area first.

Body and lip scrubs

We have talked about homemade scrubs in previous blogs. Coconut oil is the perfect base for making your own scrub. Once you add sugar, salt and essential oils, you have the ultimate all natural scrub. The coconut oil not only blends with the sugars and salts well, but it keeps the skin or lips extremely soft and nourished when you are finished. Some of the scrubs from the store exfoliate well, but then we find ourselves layering on lotion afterwards. This is not necessary when using coconut oil. Save time and money, make your own.

Natural Lotion

It provides great hydration for all of your skin. After it’s softened apply a thin layer to your skin, it’s a great all natural lotion. It can be used on the face, but it’s highly oily, so if you have greasy or sensitive skin avoid the face. You can apply it straight from the jar after it is softened. For more of a whipped lotion, mix the coconut oil with your favorite essential oil in the blender for two minutes.

Coconut Oil Hair Treatment Spray

Skip the expensive bottles of “coconut oil infused” hair shine sprays at the store and make your own. Get a cheap plastic spray bottle. Put one heaping tablespoon of melted coconut oil in the spray bottle then top with warm water (if it’s a large spray bottle only fill half way). Then shake. Spray on hair, paying extra attention to dry areas. If you have very oily hair like myself, only apply to the ends. It works great for hydrating hair, especially this time of year.

It’s fun to make your own beauty products. Plus you get the peace of mind knowing that it’s 100% all natural and not tested on animals. Also the satisfaction that you made it! They also make great gifts. You can buy cute mason jars or small containers from craft stores and fill them with holiday themed colors and scents. Or have a party and let people make their own! Next blog we will discuss working coconut oil into your diet and the health benefits associated with that.

Low Carb Comfort

Medical Weight Loss in Melbourne, FL

With fall upon us and the days getting shorter, our wardrobe isn’t the only thing we switch up. It’s now the unofficial season of comfort food. There is just something about this time of year with the holidays in sight that encourages us to gather with friends and family around a delicious warm meal. Comfort food gets its name for a reason, it makes us feel good. When enjoying it in the presence of our loved ones, it’s also good for the soul. These meals traditionally may be on the heavier side with an abundance of carbohydrates, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Below are a couple traditional comfort food recipes with a healthy makeover. Get the same yummy satisfaction and “comfort” from these tasty warm meals.

zucchini lasagna

Lasagna is a great hot dish that is perfect for company and screams comfort food. Swap out the traditional dense noodles for zucchini and you have a savory, healthy fall meal.

  • 3 small zucchini (peeled and sliced lengthwise with a mandolin)
  • ½ pound 90% lean ground beef (browned)
  • ½ pound ground turkey (browned)
  • 10 oz. part skim ricotta
  • 2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella
  • ½ cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese
  • 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 large jar of your favorite sauce (make sure it’s low in sugar and sodium) or follow the homemade recipe below

Sauce : place everything in one pot, stirring occasionally. Let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

  • 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 16 oz canned tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place zucchini slices on a microwave-safe dish and cook for 2 minutes. They are full of moisture and you want to remove some of this before baking because it will make your lasagna watery if you don’t.  Take them out and pat them gently with a dry paper towel to remove excess moisture. Add the browned meat to your sauce.  In a separate bowl mix ricotta, egg, seasonings and Parmesan cheese.  Now we are ready to build! Make a thin layer of meat sauce on bottom of pan, make one layer of zucchini noodles (covering and slightly overlapping). Top zucchini noodles with meat sauce. Next place dollops of the ricotta mix across. Then sprinkle with some of the shredded mozzarella.  Repeat these steps until you have 3- 4 layers. When you finish the top layer, crumble the fresh mozzarella on top. Place foil over your lasagna pan and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

beef tenderloin roast with celery root puree.

Nothing says comfort like a beef roast and potatoes. Choose a leaner cut of beef and try mashed celery root instead of traditional potatoes. Celery root also known as celeriac, is the root of the celery stalk that we eat all the time. Its looks are deceiving. Once peeled, a beautiful potato appearance is underneath. It has a similar taste and texture to a potato with not nearly the amount of carbs.

Beef Roast.

  • 5lb lean beef roast
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • ½  cup chopped carrots
  • ½ cup chopped mushrooms
  • ½ cup chopped onions
  • ¼ cup beef stock

Rub:

  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim excess fat off roast. Pat rub on all sides of the roast, place in roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove pan and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Place vegetables and liquid in pan under the rack. Cook for an additional 40 minutes, add more time if you like it well done.

Mashed Celery Root

  • 2lbs celery root peeled and cut into ½ in. cubes
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic
  • ½ teaspoon parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
  • 1 tablespoon butter.
  • Splash of milk

Place celery root pieces into a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mix other ingredients in and mash.