New Year New Foods

 It;s a brand new year and that means rethinking the way we eat. It was fun indulging over the holidays but it's now time to look to the healthier -healthy foods - healthy cooking habits - even healthy treats evey now and then.

For me it's more apple based products.These have helped tremendously in the past with my gall bladder issues/

I bought Acme's brand of unfiltered apple juice which is the best kind for softening gall stones. I just mix it with a shot of water to soften the taste a bit.Then there's the store's apple cider vinegar which I can take with warm water to also soften the stones and alleviate the pains. It;s also great in salad dressings. I definitely plan to mane more salads using beneficial greens this year.

 Any form of salmon will be included in my diet since I was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol. Omega 3 in the fish lowers it without the aid of statins.I'm not a big fan of this fish preferring tuna more. Yet it can be a  blank canvas, and I'm going to experiment with adding spices and herbs to it.

This is the wild caught kind from Chicken of the Sea. Go with the wild caught version if you are switching to a  full or semi pescatarian diet. The salmon caught in the wild has less contaminants than the farmed fish. I'm trying a packet first before going over to the cans. Keep in mind that this along with sardines and mackerel are high in much needed omega 3s too. You may want to vary your diet with these and chicken this year.

It's a new year and that's incentive to eat healthy,Start with small changes and then work your way up. Every little bit helps and will add up to a better lifestyle.

Cleanses For A Cleaner You

Maybe it's time for a cleanse or a detox. It;s been a rough comfort of months  thanks to eating all those comfort foods along with junk, alcohol and soda. Yet what works? What's the best and the right one for you? There are so many different ones, whether they're cleanses and detoxes.

First is there a difference? More or less, yes. Often a cleanse involves supplements or pills to eliminate substances along with focuses solely on the digestive tract. Detox strive to support your body's natural elimination process. Cleanses can aid in losing weight, since they flush out water carbohydrate stores and stool. Some doctors and nutritionists pooh-pooh them. However you will read glowing reviews all over the Internet from people who have tried them. If you're still a bit leery about them, then go gentle. Start with a detox water  cleanse instead. Water already flushes out toxins and free radicals. Drinking it also reduces the fat around a fatty liver and can help in losing weight.Add lemon and cucumber for both flavor and getting rid of the bad stuff. Want to get rid of that bacteria floating around you? Then mix water with apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. Sweeten with a tiny bit of maple syrup. If you're braver you can work your way up to a juice cleanse. This is where different juices, from both veggies and fruits are blended together for a power drink. Spices such as ginger and turmeric are added , not only for flavor but for their antioxidant properties and immune boosting systems.

I am going to go through a gallbladder cleanse myself. After a few months of gobbling down cookies  and soda along with sneaking fries every now and then, my gallbladder is suffering. I do not want to get it yanked out in the middle of a pandemic. I also don't want to wind up with colon cancer sometime down the road, because that is one of the detrimental side effects of gallbladder removal. It is a six day prep and a heavy duty two day flush. For those who are considering it, read  the how to's. The best I've discovered come from The Cultured Palate site. This is a site devoted to natural cooking and baking and has a lot of keto recipes. I'll explore those later in the summer. The flush from there comes from Dina Marie Oswald who was a registered nurse. It starts with drinking apple juice or eating apples for six days . Doing this softens the gallstones  with the apple's malic acid.  On the seventh day it's then guzzling down three cups of Epsom salts to open the bile duct and to promote stool production. It;s then chugging a mix of olive oil and lemon or grapefruit juice.Rest overnight and then there's another cup of Epsom salts in the morning. Gallstones are promised to come out and with them no pain. Am I anxious? Yes, but I have nothing to lose but those pesky stones.

If you feel like you're bloated or not well, then go for a detox or a cleanse. You'll probably feel better. Just pick the one that's right for you. You'll feel comfortable do it then.