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apples

The Naturopathic Chef: Apple Pie Monkey Bread

/1 December 2020/ All MFN blog/

I receive many requests for Monkey Bread by my breakfast lovers but it never had that “wow factor” I look for in a dish. The recipe originated in Hungary and serves as their traditional coffee cake. Dried fruit and nuts are added to the original recipes with the Americanized version tasting more like a Cinnamon roll.

Here, we capture the first signs of Fall with beautiful Gala and Granny Smith apples. No time to peel and chop apples? My time-saving tip: chunky applesauce!

Ingredients

  • 1 tube Flaky Biscuits, I use Immaculate Baking Company
  • 1 each Gala Apple, peeled, cored, and diced into small cubes
  • 1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled, cored, and diced into small cubes (place apples in Lemon water; White Vinegar works, too)
  • ½ stick Butter, unsalted (or Vegan Butter)
  • ½ tsp Vanilla
  • pinch Salt
  • ¼ cup Monk Fruit Sugar
  • ¼ cup Organic Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon

Glaze

  • ½ cup Organic Powdered Sugar
  • 2 tsps Milk of your choice
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp Lemon juice
  • Whisk until smooth, set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

*Butter an 8×8 glass baking dish.

*Do not use a dark baking pan as the sugar will burn.

Make your assembly line

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces; pile on a plate. Melt butter in a small bowl and stir in vanilla and salt. Stir sugars and cinnamon together in a separate bowl. Drain apples.

Ready to assemble

Spread half of prepared apples on the bottom of baking dish. Dip a few pieces into the butter and then into the sugar/cinnamon. Place in baking dish at different angles and gently press together and down. Continue layering process until your biscuit puzzle is complete. Top with remaining apples, and a light dusting of the sugar/cinnamon mix.

Bake 22 minutes or until peaks start to get dark. Allow to cool 10 minutes and invert on serving plate. Cool another 5 minutes and pour glaze over top. Garnish with toasted or candied nuts.

Handy Hints – Need this now?

  1. Butter a loaf pan. Leave biscuits whole, dip in butter mixture then sugar/cinnamon and stand biscuit on its side alternating with unpeeled apple slices. This makes a pull-apart loaf.
  2. Instead of prepping apples; stir chunky applesauce into butter. Coat biscuit pieces as usual. Pumpkin puree is also a great choice, here. Use Pumpkin Pie Spice instead of Cinnamon. Voila! A Pumpkin Pie Monkey Bread, perfect for your holidays.

Phyto Facts

Conventional refrigerator biscuit dough contains hydrogenated oils that confuse hormone receptors, clog the vascular system and have been shown to cause Gallbladder and Liver challenges. Some commercial dough softeners have been shown to cause both Kidney and Liver cancers.

Immaculate Baking Company doesn’t use these chemicals in any of their products.

Get more great recipes from Tina Martini — her book, Delicious Medicine: The Healing Power of Food is available to purchase on Amazon. More than a cookbook, combining 20+ years of experience, along with her love of coaching, cooking and teaching, Tina offers unexpected insights into the history and healing power of clean eating, along with recipes to help reduce your risk of disease and improve overall wellness so you can enjoy life!

Affectionately referred to as The Walking Encyclopedia of Human Wellness, Fitness Coach, Strength Competitor and Powerlifting pioneer, Tina “The Medicine Chef” Martini is an internationally recognized Naturopathic Chef and star of the cooking show, Tina’s Ageless Kitchen. Tina’s cooking and lifestyle show has reached millions of food and fitness lovers all over the globe. Over the last 30 years, Tina has assisted celebrities, gold-medal athletes and over-scheduled executives naturally achieve radiant health using The Pyramid of Power: balancing Healthy Nutrition and the healing power of food, with Active Fitness and Body Alignment techniques. Working with those who have late-stage cancer, advanced diabetes, cardiovascular and other illnesses, Tina’s clients are astounded at the ease and speed with which they are able to restore their radiant health. Tina believes that maintaining balance in our diet, physical activity, and in our work and spiritual life is the key to our good health, happiness and overall well being. Visit her website, themedicinechef.com

Debra-TedX-Screengrab

Truth About Women’s Fitness in Menopause | My TEDx Talk

/23 November 2020/ All MFN blog/

Women’s fitness in menopause is a hot topic. This is what I shared in a recent post when I began to spread the word about my TEDx talk:

I think I just threw up a little bit.

That’s how I titled my post. Here’s why.

My TEDx Talk Story

Let me tell you what happens when you get accepted to do a TEDx talk… and have less than 4 weeks to prepare it.

While you’re training for an Ironman happening two weeks after. And the weekend before you’re at a Thursday-Sunday conference knocking out a huge block of time you needed to prepare.

Then you do the talk and walk off stage feeling like you just had an out-of-body experience. You have no idea if you even said all the important things that made you do this, on your own dime and time.

Then you wait, and wait, and wait… for 7 months to it to be published (almost unheard of). And it risks getting banned because it’s controversial and in spite of a dozen+ research studies quoted and the basis of it: it flies against tradition.

It’s released… exactly what you wanted… except then you have to watch yourself and your midget mindset says, “what will people think?” You wonder if you’ve done the women whose stories you told justice. You wonder how many fitness pros will hate it because, well, they’d rather keep doing what they’re doing than accept we might be wrong.

(and of course, I’m human… I think while watching… I definitely look like I had gained that 10 lbs in 2019 I hinted at – ugh!) Keep reading beyond the video to learn more.

Well, hence the original subject line. I opened with. My TEDx talk is wayyyyyy harder to share than I anticipated.

I’ve been talking about women’s fitness for 3 1/2 decades. I’ve been diving deep into the research and protocols on exclusively women’s fitness in menopause for 10-14 hours a day for eight years. And still…

The Resistance

Somehow in my head it went different, you know? It was going to be a huge celebration and something I couldn’t wait to share.

So if I tell you when it all goes peachy and smooth, I have to tell you when it’s a sh#* storm for me.

That’s just personal doubt coming up. And I have it too. So it is fair for me to tell you, when you think maybe something won’t work for you or you can’t do this, these feelings are going to come up.

This resistance is harder than any weight you will ever lift.

So, I’ve got to say to you and to I both… lift the damn thing anyway.

We have to honor what’s happening for us at the moment we’re in no matter what that includes.

Now, a humble ask.

Will you watch my TEDx talk? 

It may help you know you’re not doing anything wrong. It may help you realize you’re doing more than you need to right now. Fitness in menopause is tricky.

Will you share it if it will benefit a friend or a health coach or trainer? 

We need to have some change in the way we think about women’s fitness in menopause order to change women’s fitness and health for the better. You deserve energy and vitality and you’re not going to get there by starving or exercise that causes extreme fatigue.

You can share the link from my website, flippingfifty.com/tedx (scroll below the video and see share buttons to put it directly on your favorite social media site) or from the TED YouTube channel directly.

And know, I appreciate it so much.

Here’s News I Haven’t Shared

Literally, the day after my TEDx talk went live, while I was still pulling up my big girl panties to share it and stop second-thoughts, I got my body fat tested. Here are the results.

Pretty amazing for a woman in post menopause at 56. From walking…. And 2 20-minute interval sessions (start to end) and 2 strength training sessions (about 30 minutes each) AT HOME during COVID19.

Now, if I changed that sentence:

Pretty amazing for a woman in post menopause at 56. From walking…. And 2 20-minute interval sessions (start to end) and 2 strength training sessions (about 30 minutes each) AT HOME during COVID19

Still true.

If I change it again:

Pretty amazing for a woman in post menopause at 56. From walking…. And 2 20-minute interval sessions (start to end) and 2 strength training sessions (about 30 minutes each) AT HOME during COVID19

Still true. (even at gym where you might think it’s easier)

So…You Need to Know

Listen, girlfriend. Please do not let that nasty, second-thought voice inside your head say you’re too old, you can’t get results, or it takes time and effort you don’t have or don’t want to put in.

Women’s fitness in menopause, and let’s get personal, your fitness in menopause may come from far less exercise than you’ve been led to believe.

Had you seen the BEFORE numbers… back in December of 2018 when I tested before beginning Ironman training … I was at 127, 24% body fat. So now… the negative impact of a year full of cortisol elevating stressors – including endurance training – become much more apparent. At my highest weight just before the Ironman I saw 139 on the scale. A number I’ve only ever seen before this when I was when pregnant. On a 5’4” frame that’s not healthy, and it’s mysterious given the exercise I was doing and high quality diet I have. Or so you might think!

Endurance exercise… causes a spike in cortisol.

You add that with many more major life stressors (I clearly got in the wrong line at some point in 2019) and you will GAIN weight. Add hitting menopause mid-year and you’ve got a perfect storm.

And no, many blessings to those who said, oh it’s muscle. Honey, um no. A girl knows. Muscle is more compact, not bulky. You can see the increase in body fat percent… 27% is not bad… just not something that makes sense with my lifestyle.

You Don’t Have to Go That Far (Please Don’t!)

I did an experiment in extremes here. You don’t have to be doing Ironman triathlon training to gain weight with too much exercise.

Please check your default thought pattern that more exercise is better.

Better exercise is better. Like walking…. Walking … for a woman used to running 3 hours, biking 4 and 5 hours… swimming for 1-1.5 hours … could also make you lose weight if it is the right Exercise is Medicine dose for you right now.

There will be a time when I can do some more of the endurance I love again. We have to listen to our bodies, adjust the exercise, as you would medication if your status changed.

 

 

Reprinted from flipping50.com with permission from Debra Atkinson.

Debra Atkinson is the #youstillgotitgirl who is flipping 50 and changing the way thousands of women think about their second half. She’s the host of the Flipping 50 TV Show and the Flipping 50 podcast. As a master personal trainer, strength and wellness coach with over 30 years fitness industry experience, she works with women who are pro-aging with vitality and energy. She is an international fitness presenter, author of hundreds of articles and multiple books. Visit her website, flippingfifty.com

Trainer helping senior woman exercising with a bosu balance

Core Strength is NOT Washboard Six Pack Abs: 4 Steps to Building Your Powerful Core Strength

/18 November 2020/ All MFN blog/

Most people associate the core with the look of your abdominals. They believe that having a strong core is associated with the look of a washboard stomach or Six Pack Abs. In reality, there are 27 muscles that make up the core of your body. From pelvis and hip muscles on up, the core is an entire system. Only a few of the muscles are visible to the naked eye.

healthy-food-and-exercise

Athletes, Injuries & Nutrition

/12 November 2020/ All MFN blog/

Athletes get injured. It’s part of the deal. Be it a torn ACL, Achilles tendonitis, or a pulled muscle, the questions arise: What can I eat to recover faster? Would more vitamins be helpful? What about collagen supplements? At this year’s virtual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND, the nation’s largest group of nutrition professionals), several presentations offered updates on nutrition for injuries.

diabetesmanagement

What Fitness Professionals Need to Know About Exercise and Diabetes

/10 November 2020/ All MFN blog/

Are you working with any clients who have type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or even prediabetes? Well, you have a lot to learn if you don’t know the first thing about those conditions! There are over 100 million Americans currently have diabetes or prediabetes—some of them are, or will be, your clients.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that results in elevated levels of blood glucose (“blood sugar”) that can cause many health complications if not managed effectively. Although exercise is one of the three cornerstones of diabetes management, sometimes it can complicate keeping blood glucose levels under control, especially in people who have to replace the insulin that their bodies no longer make (or make enough of). How they respond to being active really depends on the type of exercise and diabetes.

In any case, on a basic level, it’s good to know more about how exercise affects people with diabetes. I have lived well with type 1 diabetes for nearly half a century at this point, and I have always known at some level that exercise did good things for my blood glucose, even before I had my first blood glucose meter (after going 18 years without one).  How could I tell without a meter to test my levels?  Honestly, it was because being active always made me feel better, physically and emotionally.

I earned a PhD in Exercise Physiology to better understand how exercising helped me. You don’t have to go that far with your education, but if you have diabetes or are going to work with clients or patients who have it, here are some basic things that you really need to know.

#1: Exercise can help erase your blood glucose “mistakes”

  • Exercise acts kind of like an extra dose of insulin.
  • At rest, insulin is the main mechanism your body has to get glucose into muscle cells.
  • During exercise, glucose goes your muscles without needing any insulin (via muscle contractions).
  • Being regularly active makes your muscles more sensitive to insulin, so it takes less to have the same blood glucose lowering effect when you eat during or after exercise.
  • What better way to help erase a little overeating of carbs (or some insulin resistance) than a moderate dose of exercise to lower your blood glucose?

#2: Exercise doesn’t always make your blood glucose go down

  • It doesn’t always make your blood glucose come down, at least not right away.
  • During intense exercise, the excess glucose-raising hormones your body releases can raise your blood glucose.
  • Over a longer period of time (2-3 hours), it usually comes back down, but who wants to wait that long?
  • If you take insulin, you’ll need to take less than normal to correct a post-workout high or your blood glucose will likely be crashing low a few hours later.
  • A cool-down of less intense exercise (like walking) can help bring it back to normal, so do an easy, active cool-down after intense workouts or activities.

#3: Your muscles are critical to managing your blood glucose levels

  • Exercise also helps you build and retain your muscle mass.
  • Muscles are the main place you store carbs after you eat them—like a gas tank.
  • Exercising helps use up stored carbs, but can also increase the size of the tank.
  • When you eat carbs post-exercise, they can easily go into storage with a little insulin.
  • Being sedentary keeps the tank full and makes you resistant to insulin.
  • Aging alone can cause you to lose muscle mass over time, but you can combat it to a certain extent by recruiting all of your muscle fibers regularly.
  • Resistance training and/or high-intensity intervals build muscle more because they
    recruit the faster fibers that you don’t use when walking or doing easier activities.

#4: Exercise is the best medicine there is

  • Use exercise to control stress and to stave off depression—with no bad side-effects!
  • It’s a natural antioxidant—more effective and better than supplements!
  • Being regularly active prevents all sorts of cancers.
  • If you’re active, you’ll likely feel better and look younger than you are (as long as you don’t exercise too much).
  • You’ll be even less likely to catch a cold if you exercise moderately and regularly.
  • Standing more, taking extra steps, and fidgeting even help—be active all day long, and don’t forget your daily dose of the best medicine there is!

LEARN MORE: Join Dr. Colberg for her upcoming webinar, Challenges Related to Diet, Nutrition and Exercise in Diabetes

Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, FACSM, is a Professor Emerita of Exercise Science at Old Dominion University and a former Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She is an internationally recognized authority on diabetes and exercise. As a leading expert on diabetes and exercise, Sheri has put her extensive knowledge to use in founding Diabetes Motion (diabetesmotion.com), a website providing practical guidance about being active with diabetes. She also founded Diabetes Motion Academy (dmacademy.com), offering training and continuing education to fitness professionals.

back-pain

Three Steps to Ease Back into Exercise After a Back Injury

/5 November 2020/ All MFN blog/

According to studies, low back pain affects nearly 80% of all adults.  Most low back injuries come from the following: wearing high heels (women), performing manual labor and people who sit for long periods of time (greater than 3 hrs.). Although these statistics are alarming, there are some simple steps one can take to make sure that they avoid current and future back pain or injury. These steps all involve simple exercises that can be performed from anywhere, including one’s office.

Step 1: Stretching

In order to prevent further injury or a relapse, the first thing to do is stretch common muscles that are tight and may have caused the lower back pain in the first place. Tight muscles are known to overwork and when this occurs, they become overactive and let us know through pain. These muscles include erector spinae, hip flexors, calves and the lats (the big back muscles).

For each stretch, you want to hold the stretch for 30-120 seconds and perform the movement for 1-2 repetitions 3-5x/week. (Watch Five Back Pain Stretches from WebMD.)

Step 2: Strengthening

After you have stretched the tight muscles, now it is time to focus on strengthening the muscles that are weak or underactive. Typically, muscles become weak or underactive from lack of use or overuse by the muscles that assist or oppose the weak muscles. For example, if your hip flexor is tight, it could cause your glutes (butt) muscles to become weak. The muscles that tend to weaken with a lower back injury include certain core muscles, the butt and hamstrings.

For each strengthening exercise, you want to perform 1-2 sets of 10-15 repetitions 3-5x/week. (Watch Core Strength for Back Pain View and Good and Bad Exercises for Low Back Pain from WebMD).

Step 3: Integration

Now that you have isolated the lower back with stretching and strengthening exercises, it’s time to focus on integrating your entire body back into exercising. Integrated exercises involve using as many muscles as possible in one given exercise. By performing integrated exercises, you will ensure that the your hip joint (which can be misaligned with low back injuries) starts and remains in the right position and the proper muscles are working as they should be.

For each integrated exercise, you want to perform 1-2 sets of 10-15 repetitions 3x/week. (View integrated exercises: http://www.allthingshealing.com/Chiropractic/Corrective-Exercise-for-Back-Pain/8558#.VIoTN74zf8E)

If you follow these three simple steps, you can avoid low back pain setbacks and ensure that your back is strong enough to handle your daily activities of life.

Maurice D. Williams is a personal trainer and owner of Move Well Fitness, as well as a fitness educator for Move Well Fit Academy With almost two decades in the industry, he’s worked with a wide range of clients, including those with health challenges like diabetes, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, coronary artery disease, lower back pain, pulmonary issues, and pregnancy. Maurice is also an Assistant Professor of Health & Human Performance at Freed-Hardeman University.