Recipe: Goji Berry Vanilla Chia Pudding

Chia seeds, goji berries and many other types of imported superfoods line the shelves of most health food markets, but the problem is...many of us don't know what the heck to do with them! And at a steep price point, experimenting might not seem particularly inviting.

Of course, this is one recipe I promise will be worth the culinary adventure. It takes minimal preparation time and makes and excellent dessert or special snack.

Goji Berry Vanilla Chia Pudding:

3-3.5 cups homemade nut milk or full-fat coconut milk

1 TBS vanilla extract

2 TBS maple syrup

2-3 TBS goji berry powder (Sunfood Super Foods)

Pinch of sea salt

½ cup chia seeds

Combine all ingredients except for chia seeds in a bowl or blender and mix well. Stir in chia seeds and then pour into a glass container. Set in fridge. Stir occasionally to prevent clumping.

I adapted this recipe from Amanda Love, also known as the barefoot cook. I purchased her seasonal menu plans, and they are wonderful! Be sure to check out her offerings.

This week in my newsletter (sign up now if you want to get the goods on a weekly basis), I'm taking a closer look at the hype surrounding super foods and how much good do they really do us!

Let Your Light Shine with Cigarettes, Alcohol and Sugar

Cigarettes, alcohol and sugar have something in common: they all make us feel more alive. I knew that I was deep into my healing process when I started to develop compassion for my so-called bad habits. I actually started to thank sugar for the role it played in my life!

The truth is, we don’t engage in any activity that doesn’t benefit us in some way, so please, please, please, ease up on your self.

Wellness doesn’t always look like yoga with green drinks and giggles.

Sometimes it looks like working in the trenches, just trying to survive…with blood, sweat, and tears.

Make a decision right now to stop comparing your journey to someone else’s. We are all fighting invisible battles with advantages and disadvantages on all sides.

And we give up our vices when we are good and ready. So if you are going to continue to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and eat sugar, I am going to show you how you can help protect yourself.

You can think of what I am about to teach you as things that you can add to your life that will make your light shine brighter, effectively pushing out the dark riders. This is distinct from pulling the rug out from under your self with nothing to stand on.

I wish I had known about these things 14 years ago when I gave up sugar. I gave up my drug of choice when I was sick with an acute mononucleosis infection. My vitality was at an all-time low, and I eliminated the very thing that was giving me life. I ended up with panic attacks and unimaginable fatigue. I couldn’t hold down a job. Everything was a big fat mess.

Yes, there are other ways to do this! That said, my journey took me where I needed to go and so will yours. I can only hope that these tips will help!

The number one herb I turn to for this type of support is Cynara scolymus, commonly known as globe artichoke. Many people are familiar with the food called artichoke, which is part of the plant called the bract that we dip into butter, lemon, and garlic sauce (yum!). What I am specifically referring to here are the leaves of globe artichoke. That is the medicine…

Very bitter medicine. It kind of reminds me of burnt popcorn that, well, just came out of the ground.

While that may sound unappealing, it’s a very good thing. The bitter taste is missing from our diet, and we need it now more than ever, so pucker up and go for it!

Globe artichoke leaves are profoundly good for your liver. Many people are familiar with milk thistle for liver support. Globe artichoke is like milk thistle on crack.

It has a protective effect on the liver and exhibits cleansing properties. It maintains healthy bile production and flow, which is a key component to good digestion, particularly when it comes to breaking down fats and having amazing bowel movements.

There are two ways that I like to take globe artichoke:

1. You can buy dried leaves in bulk from vendors like Pacific Botanicals and Mountain Rose Herbs to make a bitter tea. Steep a heaping tablespoon in a quart of hot water with a dash of peppermint leaves to round out the flavor for 20 minutes. Strain and drink throughout the day.

2. I also like Globe Artichoke 1:2 liquid extract from MediHerb, available through health professionals. Take 2.5 mLs diluted in an ounce of water before each meal.

***If you have gallstones, please be aware that bile-enhancing herbs may not be your best option. It is best to consult with your holistic health professional.

Curcuma longa, also known as turmeric, is another winner when it comes to offering your body a layer of protection.

I’ve also been enjoying the Golden Child almond milk from Dulcis Milks. She nailed the flavor profile – amazing!

Remember, we can limit our thinking to the organ we call the liver OR we can expand our perspective to include every single cell in our bodies. The latter option seems much more exciting, right? So think of each cell as a mini version of you, and when you turn on liver function with bitter herbs, then you just improved the function and detoxification capacity of ALL of your cells.

Besides supporting the liver energy in your body, there is another thing you can do: support your microvascular circulation.

Insulin, the hormone secreted from your pancreas to regulate your blood sugar in the face of smoking, alcohol, and sugar...constricts blood flow in the peripheral parts of your body, like your fingers, hands, toes, feet, brain, (and yes, men, your penises) and in tissues like the retina, long nerves, bones, joints, liver and kidney.

This is where much of the damage comes from with nicotine and refined carbohydrates and where many of our age-related diseases manifest, but there is something you can do...

The final piece of guidance I have for you comes from my mentor Kerry Bone, herbalist, teacher, biochemist and founder of MediHerb. He calls it his 5-Point Dietary Plan for Healthy Microvascular Circulation. It is brilliant and effective.

#1 Boost dietary nitrate.

Beets accumulate nitrates, which promote nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide will support healthy microvascular circulation and blood pressure. Nitric oxide is water soluble, so it is best to bake or juice your beets, not steam them, for the most benefit.

#2 Increase cocoa intake.

There are 30 grams in one ounce, so this is not a lot of chocolate. Cocoa has been shown to stabilize endothelial function of the blood vessels when stressed by high blood sugar.

#3 Increase berry anthocyanin intake.

This would include blueberries (considered less active than bilberry), strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, even pomegranate. Berries improve the integrity of connective tissue, which as a part of blood vessels is essential to healthy circulation.

#4 Raw crushed garlic: ½ to 1 clove per day.

Garlic demonstrates blood-thinning activity. It also dilates the microvascular system: specific compounds in garlic interact with the red blood cells to produce hydrogen sulfide, which is a gas involved in cellular communication that relaxes the blood vessels. You can easily add fresh, raw garlic to your salad dressing and meals.

One suggestion is to chop a garlic clove and add it to a shot glass. Cover it with honey and stir. Use a spoon to scoop it out of the shot glass and place the garlic honey mixture at the back of your throat and then swallow with a drink of water (no need to chew). The honey helps to mitigate any excess heat from the garlic that can irritate some people.

#5 Increase herbs and spices: green tea, turmeric, and ginger.

It is important to note that while any single one of these things is good for you, the synergy of all five is what creates meaningful, physiological change in the body.

I just heard someone say the other day that an overnight success is really ten years of work. So it goes with the healing process. Start where you start. Guilt and shame are not healing emotions. They only point to the need for reflection and compassion and self-love.

And if you take one step forward and ten steps back, acknowledge that you did take one step forward.

May you smoke your cigarettes, drink your alcohol, and eat your sugar in peace, my friends.

Love,

Charlotte

If you have a question for me about wellness, herbs and nutrition, be sure to reach out HERE. While not every question will make it to the blog, we will respond to every email.

Also be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly email, where you'll get more in-depth articles, recipes and tools to help you reclaim your vitality.

Please remember that I do not diagnose or treat disease. If you have immediate health concerns, please consult your medical doctor immediately.

Was this article helpful? Feel free to leave comments in the box below!

Ask Char: How Can I Shake My Cravings?

Dear Char: How can I make sense of my cravings for certain foods? I feel so confused!

Great question. I have certainly struggled with this over the years, and I hope that these seven guidelines can help.

#1. Consider the possibility that all cravings come from a dietary fat deficiency. I first heard this from a lecture by Dr Tom Cowan, author of The Fourfold Path to Healing. I resisted this idea, UNTIL I started to pay closer attention to the context of my cravings. Sure enough, not eating enough good quality fats (in the form of olive oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee, lard, nuts and seeds) makes me crave strange foods, like pepperoni pizza! Consuming animal protein can play a role here, too, but fat is just as, if not more, important. Fat satiates the appetite and makes you feel good!

Get this: eating fat promotes oxytocin. Oxytocin is THE hormone of calm, love, and connection and is dominant during labor (where it facilitates contractions) and breastfeeding (where it facilitates bonding). It also opposes the stress response.

When we eat food high in fat, the upper part of the small intestine releases a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK not only activates gall bladder function, it also stimulates the release of oxytocin giving us a feeling of satiety and wellbeing after eating fat.

This insight comes to us from an excellent book titled The Oxytocin Factor by Kerstin Uvnas Moberg.

Good to know, right?

#2. Investigate food allergies. The most common culprits are gluten, dairy, corn and soy. Most people will reveal their food allergies to me in conversation by saying, “I can’t live without THAT!”

Here is what happens: your body wants to maintain balance. When a specific food creates inflammation, the body now has a new set point and will crave the food that is causing a problem. This is no different than an alcoholic or drug user craving their next hit. The only answer is to withdraw the likely foods from the diet and observe your body.

I remember when I first removed gluten from my diet. I couldn’t stop thinking about bread! I would eat and have this vacuous feeling like I hadn’t eaten. My body was waiting for the bread! Fortunately, I knew what was happening and rode the wave. I thanked my body for letting me know what was going on and after a few weeks the cravings passed and all my symptoms improved. My body had a new set point, and I removed the problematic food.

#3. Sugar and caffeine are drugs. If you ingest a drug, expect to crave it. If you crave true freedom, however, remove these substances entirely. With time, your body will adjust to life without them.

No one can reach his or her goals on will power alone. As a source of energy, will power is limited. Some people have very little of this energy to start with, and others appear to have more, but no one can choose healthy foods on will power alone. It will eventually fail you. This manifests as yo-yo dieting and the idea of “I will change everything on Monday” (this was always my favorite).

It just doesn’t work.

The real way to address cravings in our food supply that contains drugs is to call upon something much, much larger than your self. This is at the heart of the 12-Step programs.

Recovering my vitality became more important than eating dessert. That is a different kind of fuel than will power. Committing fully to your vitality makes it much easier to refuse to eat certain foods because then, you realize that your choices are changing the world. You access an energy that is of God, not of the ego. This is the flow that will sustain you.

#4. Eat a breakfast rich in fat and protein. Throw away your cereal, toasts, smoothies, oatmeal, donuts, and bagels, and enter the realm of eggs, sausage, bacon, leafy greens, quiche, breakfast tacos, and butter coffee. If I stray from my egg and sausage breakfast, I am amazed at how hungry I am at dinner and then the cravings for weird food hits me in the early evening.

The only way to know this is to do it.

#5. Go to bed as close to 9PM as possible. I know this one is irritating. We know sleep is good for us, but we just can't get enough, and if you're a parent, forget about it, right? I know. The struggle is real. But here's the scoop:

There are two primary sources of energy for your body: food and sleep.

If you don't sleep well or enough, then you crave refined carbohydrates for quick energy. Now, you may be so adapted to inadequate sleep that you don't even know what I'm talking about, but this phenomenon is at work in your body. Sleep affects your blood sugar and blood sugar affects what you want to eat. If you would like learn more about this read Lights Out.

#6. If the food you are craving exists in Nature, go for it! The main exceptions are the ones previously listed. There is probably something that your body needs in that food. Honor it.

However, if it is a processed food that keeps haunting you, go back to my first two suggestions and take a deeper look. You may need more fat and protein in your diet and/or you may have one or more food sensitivities. Investigate both.

Take a moment to check out my previous blog titled Gum, Waiting Tables, and Artificial Sweeteners. Your body seeks nutrient density, not just foods that taste good. Unfortunately, the food we eat is only as good as our soil.

This is one of the reasons why I use Standard Process nutritional supplements. The majority of whole food concentrates in these supplements are grown on an organic farm in Wisconsin with beautiful, rich, dark topsoil - these little brown and green pills deliver important micronutrients that if missing from our diet, create strong cravings.

Also, make sure that your diet regularly contains foods like organic, leafy greens, such as collard greens, kale, bok choy, beet greens, broccoli greens, and dandelion greens, as well as butter from grass-fed cows and eggs from pastured chickens.

#7. Cultivate compassion for yourself. If you “give in” to your cravings, avoid the spiral of shame. We are complex human beings, and must forgive ourselves and start over repeatedly. These forces working within us are strong (consider hormonal fluctuations with the menstrual cycle), and it’s not the end of the world if you eat the cookie. Just make sure that it is the best cookie you can get your hands on!

These are my favorite!

Bottom line: health is a relationship between you and your body.

When you make the decision to eat real, nutrient dense food, the way in which your body talks to you, gets clearer and louder. Sometimes this is very uncomfortable, and that’s OK. Don’t buy into all the happy pictures of people drinking green juices and going to yoga class. That certainly wasn’t me when I started my journey…I was a hot mess in the trenches trying to figure out how I lost my life!

When you address your cravings, you are taking a stand for your vitality, and in doing so, your body will let you know what is no longer serving it. Being confused is a good place to be! Confusion means that you are doing the work and learning something new. Over time, self-confidence will take the place of doubt. Just stay the course. Trust me.

Defeat your cravings in peace!

Love,

Charlotte

If you have a question for me about wellness, herbs and nutrition, be sure to reach out HERE. While not every question will make it to the blog, we will respond to every email.

Also be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly email, where you'll get more in-depth articles, recipes and tools to help you reclaim your vitality.

Please remember that I do not diagnose or treat disease. If you have immediate health concerns, please consult your medical doctor immediately.

Was this article helpful? Feel free to leave comments in the box below!