A client  walked into my office last week complaining of low energy, achy joints, irregular menstrual cycles and chronic sinus issues. She asked “ What is your best nutrition tip to help me turn my health around?”

Whether you’re suffering from a myriad of health issues or you feel like Superwoman the second your toes hit the floor each morning, there is one nutrition coaching tip every one of us can benefit from starting today. The answer?

Learn how to support your body’s natural detoxification system with your fork. 

Chemical-laden beauty products, scented candles and plug-ins, smog, junk food, cigarette smoke, stress- you name it. Toxins, both physically and mentally surround us and they are not going away any time soon. Sure, our liver and kidneys are meant to filter the gunk but what happens when they are too backed up to perform their job efficiently? We need to do our best to come in with reinforcement. Making sure your body runs like a well oiled machine is one of the most effective ways to prevent serious issues down the line such as depression, cancer and autoimmune disease.

Contrary to popular belief, supporting detoxification is more than just chugging water and downing veggies. 

Here are my top 5 tips to support your body’s natural detox process:  

1. Be sure to consume enough calories AND protein. The most critical step to the process is often the most overlooked step. If you are not eating enough to support your body’s physiological process AND you are not consuming enough protein, your liver will struggle greatly to filter toxins (Hence why a juice cleanse doesn’t truly work for detoxification). Adequate amino acid intake is critical, particularly for phase II of detoxification. In other words, be sure to incorporate a palmful of a high quality protein  source at every meal- plant or animal based!
2. Strategically choose foods that boost your detox pathways. Sure, colorful fruits and veggies will never go out of style, but phytonutrient rich brassicas like cabbage, bok choy, collards, broccoli in addition to garlic, onion, pomegranate, watercress, green tea, cilantro, artichoke and cacao have the ability to enhance our natural detoxification pathways.
3. Incorporate high quality fat on a daily basis. Ample amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids and monounsaturated oils can support your liver in flushing toxins out of the body. Your new best friends? Salmon, flaxseed, olive oil, almonds and avocado. 
4. Drink enough fluid. Perhaps this goes without saying but there are a few of us out there who would benefit from a friendly reminder. Adequate fluid intake will help our kidneys more efficiently flush toxins. Aim for at least half your body weight in ounces of fluid each day. (Yes, tea and smoothies count)!
5. Choose a modality to increase blood and lymphatic circulation. Keeping our circulatory and lymphatic system running and draining is key to supporting a whole foods eating regimen. Stay consistent with your favorite exercise routine and consider regular massage or body work. Sauna therapy, rebounding (think mini trampoline) and dry brush therapy can be helpful. 

Cheers to longevity!

With love,

Kylene

Looking for a heart healthy recipe that also supports detoxification? We’ve got you covered! 

In fact, if optimal heart health had a baby with optimal liver health, the end product would be this coconut ginger soup. Plant-based, loaded with phytonutrients, high quality fat, fiber and most importantly: flavor!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups lentils of your choice, sorted and rinsed well
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 7 cups organic vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• Salt, to taste
• Optional garnish: a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped scallions, pumpkin seeds or a squeeze of fresh lime

Directions:

1. Place lentils, onion and broth in a 3-4 quart pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until lentils start to soften, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Add squash, coconut milk, lemongrass paste, curry powder, ginger, and garlic.
3. Season with salt, to taste.
4. Bring back to a low simmer and cook until the lentils have completely broken down and squash is tender.
5. Taste and adjust any seasonings as desired.
6. Garnish then enjoy the soup alone or poured over cooked rice.

Enjoy!

Probiotics are the talk of the town these days, and for good reason!  However, the influx of information can be so overwhelming at times. So, let’s focus on understanding one key item: the balance (or imbalance) of bacteria in our gut combined with a bit of lifestyle and genetics can dictate everything from mood, to weight loss, pain, bowel habits and beyond. 

While it is always best to consult with a licensed practitioner before beginning a probiotic, here is the quick and dirty cheat sheet of the most heavily researched probiotic strains as they relate to human health.

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome: In a 2018 clinical trial, 113 patients demonstrated that a combination of L. acidophilus CL1285, L. casei LBC80R, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus CLR2 is effective at relieving symptoms of IBS including abdominal pain, bloating, and gas.
• Acid Reflux: A 2010 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation proved this theory when supplementing formula milk with Lactobacillus reuteri accelerated gastric emptying and improved reflux in infants. Another study in China, involving 80 premature infants also found that probiotics reduced the number and length of reflux episodes.
• UTI: Clinical trials have shown that a weekly capsule of freeze-dried Lactobacillus strains L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. fermentum B-54, in addition to a daily capsule of Lactobacillus strains L. rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 can repair the vagina’s normal lactobacilli-dominated flora.
• Anxiety: A 2009 8-week study, found a statistical difference between anxiety scores in those taking active Lactobacillus casei compared to the placebo.

What questions do you have about probiotics and how they can support you and your health needs?

With love, 

Kylene

Meal prepping is a great tool to help keep yourself on a healthy eating track. You not only can control your portion sizes, you also save money, improve your cooking skills, and it's a win win when it comes to time management. 

When it comes to meal prepping, here are my top 5 tips for ultimate success when doing this for the long haul!

Start by creating a core grocery list of 10 items that will always serve as your foundation. 

Here is what I would suggest for a template: 

• 2 proteins
• 3 vegetables
• 2 fruits
• 1 fat
• 2 starch

It might look a little something like this: 

• Salmon
• Chicken
• Broccoli
• Salad
• Carrots
• Apples
• Bananas
• Olive oil
• Brown rice
• Quinoa

This will help you to save an incredible amount of time and money vs. fishing through recipes and piecing everything together. Remember, olive oil, pepper and little sea salt can go a long way!

Invest in high quality glass containers with matching lids that snap. 

These little guys will be your saving grace. Cook in advance before your busy week starts, portion individual meals out and freeze in glass containers. Over a few weeks’ time, you will collect a variety of meals and never become bored when you come home and need a 30 second reheat. For those that live on take out for the pure convenience, these containers will be your new best friend.

Cook in bulk! 

Sure, you’ve heard this before, but what good is cooking in bulk without a core grocery list and pretty glass containers? Set the foundation before you cook in bulk and you will witness more long term success.

On your designated meal prep day, carve 2 hours out of your schedule the exact same way that you would for an important meeting or date night. 

Your health is just as important if not more important and let’s be honest, if its not carved into the calendar, you will find one million and one excuses to skip prepping.  Nothing should get in the way of these two hours and if it does, find a new day/ time!

Be sure to have 5-6 different fresh or dried spices and herbs on hand at all times. 

An awesome flavor profile can go a long way, especially when you are sticking with a core grocery list of 10 items. Chicken, rice and broccoli can taste quite different, depending what you sprinkle on it! I often mix and match the spices in their own container and dip into it as needed throughout the week. 

My favorite suggestions: 

• Chili Powder
• Sea Salt
• Garlic
• Onion powder
• Chipotle
• Cilantro

There you have it! 5 simple yet effect steps for ultimate success when meal prepping. For those of you that do meal prep, or would like to but never really stick with it, what do you find the most challenging?

With love, 

Kylene

We're one day away from closing out the first month of the New Year...how does it feel?! While we very much at times can feel like we are still living in a 2020 world, we have much to be grateful for and still much to take advantage of, so that we can make this year our own. Let’s get to know your “why” and let’s get to know your mindset and your motives on a deeper level. This my friend, is the key to succeeding long term when it comes to YOU.

Have a Crystal Clear Vision

Look at the entire picture. If I could highlight this one in glitter, rainbows and stars, trust me I would! This is possibly the most important pro tip of all, yet it is the one that no one follows. Ever.

What is your why? What will this do for you? How will it make you feel? What is driving you to this goal? Do you want to set a great example for your children? Do you want to experience a new level of confidence? Do you want to show up more for yourself and your community? Write it down and highlight your why.

Be honest with yourself in the area's where you are looking to improve, whether that's physical, emotional, spiritual, in your relationships, etc. Where do you want to show up the most? Fort starters, what have you done consistently for your mental health? And when I say consistently, I mean a minimum of 30 days, ideally 90 days. Meditation, Yoga, Thai Chi - there are so many awesome possibilities that are easily accessible through social networks and websites. 

What does your sleep look like? Are you actually tracking it? How do you know that you are actually getting quality sleep and for a bare minimum of 6.5, ideally 8 hours consistently?

No matter what your goal(s) is, you may struggle to succeed long term if the whole picture is not in place.

Our bodies are so intelligent. They know when we are over stressed, exhausted, under-fueled and they know when to pull back the reins to protect us. It is our body’s attempt at screaming “HEY! This isn’t safe” or “This isn't working."

If we do not consistently piece the whole puzzle together, we may never see the results we set out for. 

Take Baby Steps

Yep, I said it. Throw that 'all or nothing' attitude out the window. Our body does not work that way, so neither should your mind. I often tell my clients, if you are eating the best you can, moving daily, and placing emphasis on quality sleep and meditation, nothing is going to happen if you indulged in chocolate cake or didn't exercise 5 days a week.

I promise, your body is more intricately designed than you realize. Obviously, 2 weeks of consistent binging, negative self-talk, little or no form of movement or physical activity will not do you any justice, but don't be afraid to loosen the reins a bit. Cut yourself some slack. If you don't feel like going for that run, dance instead. If you don't feel like meditating, put on your favorite song or just open your window and feel the sun on your skin. 

Follow what feels good. Do what brings you that happiness. Don't get me wrong, sometimes the thought of exercise doesn't feel exciting at all but how much better will you feel after? Or think about other forms of physical activity you can do to get yourself in that positive headspace.

Taking those baby steps and not being so hard on yourself will only enhance your success, especially when it's coming from a positive place of pure joy.  

Here's to 2021, a year that you can make completely your own!

With Love,

Kylene

Congrats! You’ve made it through the elimination phase of your nutrition protocol.

Whether you feel incredible and want to keep going or you’d like to reintroduce foods to check your tolerance level, my ultimate goal is to help you maintain your success. 

Alright, wondering what’s next? It’s time to reintroduce the foods that you have removed over the past 4-6 weeks!

The purpose of the reintroduction process is to discover which foods (if any) may have been causing symptoms. Now that you gave your immune system a chance to “relax” over the past few weeks, it is much easier to detect adverse food reactions. 

However, there is definitely a method to this process if you want to ensure accuracy, so here are my top three tips to ensure your reintroduction success. 

Be Patient

Did you know it can take up to 4 days for your body to experience a reaction from reintroducing a new food? This is why your goal should be to reintroduce one new food every 4 days. This is what your schedule should look like.

• Day 1: One serving of the new food in the a.m. (ideally on an empty or fairly empty stomach). Take note of any reactions. If you feel well, try it again that afternoon between lunch and dinner.
• Day 2: OFF from that food. Give your body a break and wait for any delayed reactions.
• Day 3: Repeat exactly like day one with the same food. 
• Day 4: OFF. If you still feel well at the end of day 4, you may reintroduce that particular food into your weekly routine. (Although, eating something all day, every day, no matter how well your tolerance, is never a smart idea!)

Think Naked

In order to properly reintroduce a food, that food must be “naked” during those first 4 days. In other words, that particular food should stand alone. If you want to bring back dairy, you would start with cow’s milk because there are no added ingredients vs. ice cream where you have cow’s milk and 7+ additional ingredients. If you want to bring back gluten, choose a pasta where the only ingredient is semolina wheat vs. wheat bread that includes numerous ingredients. Even if you choose a high quality, pure ingredient option, we want to eliminate all possibilities of additional food reactions from additives. 

Document The Process

It is incredibly important for you to take notes during the reintroduction phase. What did you eat? (I often suggest that my clients take a picture of the ingredient list.) How much? Did you react negatively or positively to that food? These notes will help guide you throughout your food journey and if for whatever reason you are unable to draw helpful patterns and correlations, it would be very beneficial to share your journal with a healthcare practitioner who is trained in elimination diets. 

My hope is that by the end of this experience, you will have found which foods are aggravating your immune system and which foods you tolerate best. If you are still experiencing symptoms, it would be a great time to schedule with a dietitian who is trained in Functional Nutrition! A list of qualified practitioners near you can be found here. 

What questions to you have around reintroducing foods into your routine and elimination diets in general?

With love, 

Kylene 

This is one of my favorite recipes for rebalancing gut microbes. I introduce to you...fermented veggies! Most fermented foods in general are very helpful when it comes to helping our body grow the “good bugs” in the gut while crowding out the “bad bugs”.

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 cups of a rainbow of cut vegetables or enough to fill a quart jar (pick your favorites like onion, radish, green beans and carrots)
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and slightly crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• Option to add a few sprinkles of any of your favorite seasonings
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 quart filtered water

Directions:

1. Place garlic in the bottom of a clean, wide-mouth quart jar. Layer the cut vegetables, pressing down to fit as many as you can up to the shoulder of the jar (be sure to leave 1-2 inches headspace).
2. Add any desired seasonings to the contents in the jar. (Optional)
3. Dissolve the salt in the water and pour over the vegetables in the jar until the top vegetables are barely covered. Use a thin plastic spatula around the sides of the jar to release any air bubbles.
4. Use a weight to keep the vegetables under the brine and attach a tight regular lid or airlock lid.
5. Begin fermentation at room temperature (aim for 60-70 degrees) for about 5 days, tasting to see if they are your desired flavor and texture. If using regular lids, burp daily to release excess pressure.
6. Once this step is finished, transfer to the refrigerator with a regular lid for storage - the flavor will continue to develop.
7. Your easy peasy fermented veggies can be stored in the fridge for slightly over a month!

There you have it! Super easy and super nutritious. Here's healthy, happy, rebalanced gut microbes.

With love, 

Kylene

For those who are new to this lovely, sparkling beverage, kombucha is tea that is combined with yeast and a small amount of sugar in order to promote fermentation.

Drinking 4-8 oz daily can be helpful for increasing the “good” bacteria in our gut, thereby enhancing our immune system.

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of purified water
• 6-8 teabags of your favorite tea
• 1 cup sugar
• SCOBY (This stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). You can make your own or choose a little assistance with a starter kit
• 2 cups of unflavored, neutralized, store bought kombucha
• Option to include 1-2 cups of your favorite chopped fruit for additional flavoring (berries are great) or 2-5 tbsp of fresh herbs or spices

Equipment Needed:

• Pot or tea kettle
• Small funnel
• Mason Jar (which comes with cloth and rubber band)
• Stirring spoon
• Bottles with tightly closing lids

Directions:

1. Create tea base:  Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. This may take a few hours (depends on pot size). If you’d like to speed up the cooling process, place the pot in an ice bath.
2. Add starter tea: Once cool, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. Fun fact, the starter tea prevents “bad” bacteria from making a home in the first few days of fermentation.
3. Transfer to jars and add scoby: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar and (with clean hands) carefully slide the scoby into the jar. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers and secure with a rubber band. Even paper towels or coffee filters will work.
4. Ferment for 7-10 days: Be sure to keep the jar out of direct sunlight, at room temp and in an area that won’t be continually disturbed. Periodically check the Kombucha and scoby.  It is not unusual for the scoby to float at the top, bottom, or sideways during this process. Don’t be freaked out if you see weird floaters and strings hanging from the scoby. These are normal signs of fermentation!
5. Time to Taste Test! After 7 days, start to taste your kombucha. Wait until you reach a balance of sweet and sour that you prefer. It's now time to remove the scoby, but make sure you have another batch of hot tea in the wings in order to hand off the scoby! Side note, it's ok to keep your scoby on a plate for a little bit until you are ready to transfer to the new batch.
6. Bottle Up: Measure 2 cups from this batch to serve as your starter tea for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (strain if desired) into bottles using the small funnel. Add any fruit or herbs you may want for additional flavor. Leave approximately a half inch of room at the top of each bottle.
7. Carbonate then Refrigerate: Store the bottled kombucha at room temperature out of direct sunlight. Allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation. Be sure to consume your delicious kombucha within a month!

Enjoy! 

In one of my most recent posts, Hitting the Refresh Button. Your Guide To an Elimination Diet - Part 1, I talk about the benefits of elimination diets, how to get started and tips along the way. I highly recommend giving that a read before going into my list of meal ideas to get you started:

Breakfast:

• Smoothie Template: 
  • 15-25g scoop plant based protein powder of your choice
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 cup nut milk
  • 1.5 tbsp almond butter or ½ frozen avocado
  • handful of spinach is optional
• Here are a few more delicious smoothie flavor combos: 
  • Option 1:
    • Vanilla powder
    • Canned pumpkin
    • Nut meg
    • Almond butter
  • Option 2:
    • Chocolate powder
    • Frozen raspberries
    • Cashew butter
  • Options 3:
    • Vanilla powder
    • Blueberries
    • Cinnamon
    • Coconut oil or butter
• Breakfast Power Bowl: Organic chicken or turkey sausage with sautéed veggies, quinoa and seasonings of choice.
• Sweet potato in a crockpot overnight (leave 1-2 inches of water at the bottom) then melt coconut oil, cinnamon and your favorite nut butter on top.

Lunch and Dinner:

• Grilled chicken breast over a bed of greens with olive oil, vinegar, and all the nuts, seeds and veggies your heart desires! Optional side of smashed red skin potatoes.
• Taco bowl: Lettuce, salsa, guacamole, protein of choice, grilled peppers and onions, beans, rice (Chipotle will save you in a pinch!!) This concept also works well for Indian, Asian Mediterranean etc.
• Shirataki Miracle Noodles with meat sauce and salad (great brand is Tinkyada. They make a nice rice pasta, just make sure to cook al dente or you will not be happy).
• Chili with a side of roasted broccoli or better yet, pour the chili over a baked potato or sweet potato!
• Grilled fish of choice with a brown rice quinoa blend and a side of veggies.
• Stir fry with cauliflower “rice”, or brown rice, lean protein, veggies, and Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce.
• Grass-fed burger wrapped in lettuce with a side of homemade roasted potato slices baked in olive oil with sea salt and pepper.

Snacks:

• Lara Bar
• Apple dipped in almond butter with cinnamon on top or apple slices sautéed in coconut oil with cinnamon on top
• Rice cake w/ sunflower butter and raisins or celery in sunflower butter
• Carrots and guacamole
• Veggies or mini rice cakes and hummus 
• Epic animal protein bar (tastes better than it looks and sounds!), or try a simple smoothie beverage like blending 1 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk, ½ cup frozen raspberries, 1 teaspoon raw cacao blended together for a little afternoon pick me up!

With love, 

Kylene

If there were ever a time in your life to truly hit the reset button on your health, it is now! If you feel as though you’ve been living in a world of fatigue, brain fog and or gut issues, let’s use this current situation to repair and restore your body. 

Our immune system acts similarly to a “bucket” and when that bucket overflows so to speak, we start to experience aggravating symptoms like headaches, sinus issues, inability to lose weight, fatigue and joint pain. These symptoms are a manifestation of the fact that our immune system has had enough. 

Reasons for this burden and overflow include, but are not limited to stress, medication use, environmental toxins, overtraining for those who are very active and eating poor quality food. 

By paying closer attention to our diet and removing foods that might be inflammatory, our body can experience the rest it truly deserves. The end result is typically more energy and less symptoms! 

So, what exactly will we be removing on this plan?

Technically, there are hundreds of different variations of the elimination diet. However, for efficiency’s sake, we are going to go with the classic elimination diet which is where we remove many of the top allergens in addition to inflammatory components such as gluten, dairy and sugar. 

Top Foods to Remove

Wheat/gluten, corn, soy, dairy, shellfish, peanuts, eggs, caffeine, sugar, alcohol with the option to remove red meat if you suspect this may be a trigger. Otherwise, keep it.

While it may seem somewhat restrictive, this is what typically yields the best results. And honestly, if you plan ahead, it's not too difficult, especially now that so many of us are not able to socialize and dine out for the time being. 

Many of these foods are removed because they are heavily treated then manufactured, plus they are commonly consumed. This combination of heavy processing and overconsumption is a recipe for an immune system disaster. For example, you may not enjoy eating soy, yet you also may not realize soy is a main ingredient in your salad dressing, granola bars etc. If you were not an avid label reader before, start now!

Pro Tip 1: You might feel worse for a few days before you feel better. It’s O.K. Hang in there, eat every 3-4 hours when awake, be sure your meals are balanced, stay hydrated and get plenty of sleep. This will soon pass and you may find that you feel better than you have felt in years.

Pro Tip 2: If caffeine and sugar are what you use to get by each day, I would strongly recommend a gradual wean before officially starting. There is no need to suffer unnecessarily by removing everything at once

Pro Tip 3: If you enjoy cooking and you are craving something in particular, type the phrase “top 8 allergen free” in front of the food you are hoping to prepare. For example, “ top 8 allergen free soup or top 8 allergen free breakfast bake.”

Pro Tip 4: A variety of different sized glass containers will be your saving grace.  If you do not have what you need on hand and a few recipes cooked and portioned into containers, you may find it difficult to stay consistent. Please keep in mind these meals do not need to be elaborate! A simple dish of rice, chicken and broccoli will work just fine. My clients succeed most when they map out three breakfasts, three lunches, three dinners and three snacks to rotate over the next few weeks.

Please follow along with me this month as I will be providing you with all the necessary tools for a successful elimination diet experience.

Beginning an Elimination Protocol

1. Please fill out the attached Medical Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ). In a dream world, your score will be 10 or less. We will use this baseline score as your starting point. The goal is to follow 4 weeks of a strict elimination diet and then fill out the questionnaire once more to see if your score has improved.
2. Begin to shop, plan and meal prep. Here is a list of meal ideas to get you started.
3. Begin the elimination protocol! In a dream situation, you would follow this approach for the next 4-6 weeks. However, if that is not feasible, a two week minimum would be a great start. I would strongly recommend that you keep a food and symptom journal at this time. Make note of what you eat and how you feel. What foods make you feel energized and what foods make you feel sluggish or bloated?
4. It’s time for reintroduction. Stay tuned for next month’s article as we will be giving an in depth explanation of how to properly reintroduce foods that were removed.

In the meantime, please share your questions and comments! I would love to hear from you.

With love, 

Kylene