So often people state that come January 1st, they are making changes in their lives, new year’s resolutions. The problem with these when they come to health and wellness goals, is that they are temporary.
Full lifestyle changes that work, often cannot happen overnight. These require mindset changes, learning how to hydrate your body correctly, pantry clean outs (knowing what the heck to get rid of and what to replace them with), learning what to buy at the grocery store, scheduling changes to fit in sleep, exercise and downtime, less blue light in your life, and often, getting your loved ones on board too! To think you can implement all of this overnight, is overwhelming to say the least, and THIS is how these resolutions end up failing.
What I suggest to my clients is baby steps. Gradual changes that have great impact. Over the next few months I will cover a bit on each of those lifestyle changes listed above.
Let’s start with hydration:
Why do you need to stay hydrated? Water is the most important nutrient. It makes up about 60% of your total human body mass (in an average adult, that equates to 10-13 gallons of water) and is required for numerous body processes. (Popkin, D’Anci, & Rosenberg, 2010) You can go eight weeks without food, but only days without water.
Unfortunately, dehydration happens to be one of the most common deficiencies. Consuming an adequate amount of water is critical for proper hydration and overall health, so drink up!
14 Reasons to Stay Hydrated:
Improves oxygen delivery to cells\Transports nutrients
Enables cellular hydration
Moistens oxygen for easier breathing
Cushions bones and joints
Absorbs shocks to joints and organs
Regulates body temperature
Removes wastes
Flushes toxins
Prevents tissues from sticking
Lubricates joints
Improves cell‐to‐cell communications
Maintains normal electrical properties of cells
Empowers the body’s natural healing process
The body can produce about 8% of its daily water needs through metabolic processes. The remaining 92% must be ingested through the foods we eat and the beverages we drink.
What Is Dehydration?
Water is one of the most common nutritional deficiency in the American population. If the body’s water content drops by as little as 2%, it will cause fatigue. A drop of 10% will cause significant digestive, cardiovascular, immune, and musculoskeletal health problems. Losses greater than 10% can cause death. Here are some signs of dehydration:
Early Signs of Dehydration:
Fatigue
Anxiety
Irritability
Depression
Cravings
Cramps
Headaches
Mature Signs of Dehydration:
Heartburn
Joint Pain
Back Pain
Migraines
Fibromyalgia
Constipation
Colitis
How to Stay Hydrated
Like with nutrition, water needs are always bio-individual. Some individuals will need more water than others in hotter temperatures, during intense physical activity, or when experiencing intense stress, blood sugar dysregulation, and so on. While the quantity of water intake should be tailored to each person, generally, your weight in pounds, divided by 2 represents the minimum ounces you should drink each day. For every 8 ounces of caffeine, you would add in about 12-16 ounces of water.
Add a pinch of sea salt to your water: Sea salt contains dozens of minerals, including the electrolytes calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium that help you better absorb and utilize the water you drink.
Sip, don’t chug: The body can only process a limited amount of water at a time. You will be able to absorb and utilize the water you drink more efficiently if you take small sips over a longer period of time.
Drink most of your water away from meals: Sipping a little water with meals is fine but try to consume most of your water between meals to avoid diluting stomach acid and negatively impacting digestion. Thoroughly chewing each bite will help provide most of the lubrication needed throughout the meal.
Drink clean water: Get your water from clean, reliable sources and use a good water filter system for water that you drink or bathe in if using city water. If using well water, make sure your water has been tested, I suggest doing these tests every 5 years or so.
Drink your water from glass, not plastic! I know, you are on the run, and a plastic water bottle is convenient. But you can now find re-fillable glass water bottles in stores and online easily! They come with neoprene or rubber covers to help prevent breaks.
4 ways to stay hydrated:
Add a pinch of non-refined sea salt to your water
Sip, don’t chug!
Drink water away from meals
Drink clean water
Summary:
Optimal health requires daily consumption of enough water since the human body does not store water long-term. We’re not camels after all! Water is the most important nutrient and makes up about 60% of our body weight. Adequate hydration is necessary for basic human function. There are many ways to stay hydrated like adding a pinch of sea salt to your water. Before you grab a cup coffee to get you through the midday dip, try hydrating first. Your body will thank you!
Resources:
Popkin, B. M., D’Anci, K. E., & Rosenberg, I. H. (2010, Aug 01).
Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition Reviews, 68(8), pp. 439-458.
This month’s recipe is chicken burgers with a sour cream paprika sauce (pictured cooking above and pictured plated below the recipe)
This is an absolute family favorite in our house, you can skip the sauce and use ghee instead of butter, if dairy is an issue for you. Although I have not tried this, it would seem to me you COULD do the sauce with no cream or sour cream, the taste of course will be different, but I imagine it too would be delicious! This meal does take quite a bit of prep time (Plan an hour start to finish the first time) but one can freeze the chicken burgers before cooking them, to make for future meals, I often do this!
Chicken Burgers with a Sour Cream Paprika Sauce
4 Servings
Ingredients:
For the burgers:
1 16-ounce package of ground chicken or turkey meat (you can grind your own using a food processor!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
5 Tbsp melted butter (or ghee)
1/2 cup flour (I use Pamela’s gluten free baking an dpancake mix)
1 cup breadcrumbs (I use Gillian’s brand gluten free breadcrumbs)
1 egg
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cold water
For the sauce:
2 Tbsp of butter (or Ghee)
1 small onion chopped finely
4 tsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp flour (I use Pamela’s gluten free baking and pancake mix)
1 tsp thyme (I prefer ground in this recipe)
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of heavy cream
4 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp of brandy
½ a cup of sour cream
Instructions:
For the burgers:
In a large mixing bowl add:
Salt and pepper, to taste, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 5 Tbsp melted butter (or ghee) and stir up well. Then add the ground meat and mix thoroughly with your hands. Put in refrigerator to chill (10-15 minutes is fine, I usually get all the ingredients and measuring utensils out for the sauce while it is chilling).
In 3 a shallow bowl place 1/2 cup flour (I use Pamelas
In another shallow bowl place 1 cup breadcrumbs (I use Gillian’s brand gluten free breadcrumbs)
In another shallow bowl place, 1 egg, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp cold water and whisk until blended
Melt 6 Tbsp of butter/ghee in a frying pan on low heat so as not to burn the butter/ghee (while that is melting do the steps below)
Remove ground meat from refrigerator and divide into 4 flat burgers, dip each one into flour, then egg mixture then breadcrumbs and place in frying pan to cook. Keep turning them until they are nice golden brown and cooked all the way through.
For the sauce:
Melt 2 Tbsp of butter (or Ghee) and add in the 1 small onion chopped finely.
Cook until wilted.
Then sprinkle with 4 tsp. Paprika, 2 Tbsp flour (I use Pamela’s gluten free baking and pancake mix),1 tsp thyme (I prefer ground in this recipe), whisk and then add in 1 cup of chicken stock and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add 1 cup of heavy cream and bring to a boil
Add 4 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, 2 Tbsp of brandy and stir in ½ a cup of sour cream, heat but DO NOT BOIL!
We enjoy this served with brown rice as a vessel for the sauce 😉!
***Soak your rice overnight in water before cooking (brown rice, it is better to do 24 hours). This removes most of the phytic acid. phytic acid binds minerals and prevents your body from being able to absorb them!
How to soak your brown rice:
1. Add brown rice to a glass or ceramic bowl and cover with water filtered for chlorine and fluoride.
2. Cover and soak brown rice for 24 hours at room temperature without changing the water.
3. Strain the water from the rice. Save the soaking liquid and store in the fridge.
4. Cook the brown rice in filtered water or bone broth.
5. The next time you make brown rice, add the soaking liquid you saved in the fridge from the last batch. Add more filtered water to cover the rice.
6. Each time you use the rice soaking liquid for brown rice, it becomes more effective in removing phytic acid, until 96% or more of the phytic acid is degraded within 24 hours. (If you soak for less time, it will remove less phytic acid.)
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