Blueberries are famous anti-oxidants, they help protect the body against free radical damage.  They protect your brain (anxiety therapy!), eyes, heart, and colon.  Blueberries are also high in manganese which helps us combat stress and fight anxiety / panic.  Plus, they taste so delicious!

I love apples because the are low glycemic like blueberries (won’t spike blood sugar) and they are high in soluble and insoluble fiber.  This in turn helps balance our blood sugar levels and takes stress off of our adrenals.

Coconut oil, well … it’s just awesome!!!  Coconut oil has a rich taste but it also helps balance blood sugar levels, combats candida (yeast overgrowth), and regulates the thyroid. It’s like putting a long, slow burning log in the fire and gives us high quality fuel to burn.

I love almonds, they are a great source for tryptophan. Tryptophan is what turns into serotonin in our body, which is the “feel good euphoric” brain chemical. Most of us who have experienced depression, anxiety, panic, or sleep problems are often low in serotonin.

Then there are the YLTG (Young Living Therapeutic Grade) oils. These aren’t the kind you find in health food or grocery stores. These are true medicinal grade and can be eaten SAFELY.  Commercially found stuff cannot and should not be ingested!   Besides tasting great, they offer health benefits.  Cassia increases insulin receptor sensitivity. Clove is one of the highest anti-oxidant substances known on earth. Onycha is anti-inflammatory and soothing.  You can find them at http://www.anxietytherapyremedies.com or contact me at Jen@NaturalAnxietyTherapy.com.  The onycha and cassia are only found in the 12 Oils of Ancient Scripture Kit.

Blueberry Apple Cobbler Recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

Topping:

½ pound or 8 ounces of salted roasted almonds

¼ cup of coconut flour – sifted.

¼ cup ground flax (freshly ground is the best)

1 tsp salt

½ cup coconut oil or butter – melted (warm, not hot)

1 egg

1 drop YLTG cassia

1 drop YLTG onycha

Partial drop of YLTG clove oil

½  c. of Grade B Maple Syrup (two ¼ cups: one for dry mixture and one for drizzle)

Fruit Mixture:

3 small golden delicious apples

2 c. fresh blueberries (1 pint)

½ lemon

Instructions:

Core apples and slice them into eighths.  Then chop slices into smaller bite sized pieces.  Put into a 8 X 8 X 3 inch baking dish along with the pint of blueberries.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the fruit.  Set aside

To prepare the almonds, finely grind half of them. The other half, chop in the processor so they are chunky small pieces. (The size of peanut chunks that are used to roll caramel apples in.)

Place all of the almonds in a medium sized bowl.  Add the flax, coconut flour, and salt.  Mix ingredients together and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil (butter), egg, cassia, onycha, and ¼ cup of maple syrup. Mix with hand mixer until evenly blended. Add clove oil by using a toothpick to dab the top of the bottle, stir this into the liquid mixture. One whole drop is overkill!

Make a well in the dry mixture of nuts, flax, and coconut flour.  Pour in the liquid mixture and stir enough so the dry mixture is completely wet.  Do not over mix. Sprinkle it over the top of the blueberries and apples so it’s evenly distributed.  Then drizzle the remaining ¼ cup of maple syrup over the top right before putting it in the oven.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the blueberries are bubbling up through the topping and top is golden brown.

THEN ENJOY!!!!

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I love tuna salad, but not your momma’s version with mayo, onions, and celery.  My recipe is chock full of veggies that will nourish your body, balance your blood sugar, and help heal your insulin resistance.

You may have heard, tuna can have mercury in it and should be eaten twice a week MAX.  I only eat tuna once or twice a month, just my pre-caution (See the EPA’s INFO). But, I do have a strategy with my recipe design – surprised?   I add a BUNCH (no pun intended!) of cilantro.  Cilantro is known the chelate (take out) mercury from the central nervous system.  Tomatoes being high in Vitamin C helps get the mercury OUT of the body.  The vitamin E in the olive oil helps protect your brain too!   Ahhhh, foods are always the best medicine.

“Now THAT’S a Tuna Salad” Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

¼ onion or 3 scallions

1 medium tomato

2 cans of tuna

1 bunch of cilantro

4 stalks of celery

2 tblsp olive oil

1/3 cup Latin Lemonaise (from The Ojai Cook)

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Chop up cucumber, tomato, celery, cilantro, and onion (scallion) and add to a bowl.  Flake apart tuna and add to vegetables.  Dress with olive oil and mayo. Mix all together so dressings are evenly distributed.  Salt and pepper to taste.

* Latin Lemonaise is readily available in local grocery stores, often found in the health food section.  If you do not have access to this brand, zip up regular mayo or Vegenaise with chili, jalapeños, cumin, garlic, mustard, cayenne, and some freshly squeezed lemons and lime.

Anxiety therapy comes best when it’s comes in the form of great food!

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How could I give you the green tomatillo recipe and not the red tomato version?  I wouldn’t do such a thing!   Tomatoes are a FANTASTIC source of nutrients to help combat insulin resistance.

If you’re not familiar with how insulin resistance and blood sugar issues are related to anxiety and adrenal fatigue, be sure to check out my posts under the Blood Sugar an Adrenal categories!

Tomatoes are full of vitamin C, which supports adrenal function.  Healthy adrenals allow our body to feel relaxed, combat stress, fight illness, and feel mentally terrific!  They also have significant chromium, which helps regulate insulin function.  Tomatoes are also high in the super anti-oxidant lycopene which has been shown through research to protect us against cancer.  If you want 3X the lycopene protection, choose ORGANIC tomatoes!!!

FIREY HOT RED TOMATO SALSA

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes

1 small bunch of scallions

½ c. cilantro

½ jalapeno

¼  tsp cumin

½ lemon

Salt

Instructions:

Half the tomatoes and squeeze out most of the juice and seeds in the trash.  Chop the tomatoes into eighths (big chunks). Add to food processor.   Finely chop scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro; add to the tomatoes.  Squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Sprinkle in the cumin and add a pinch of salt.  Pulse the food processor four or five times, just enough to mix well and break up the tomatoes a bit more – making them juicy but still chunky.  If you like a “smooth” salsa, blend until you reach the consistency you prefer.

*Add more or less jalapeno depending on your heat index tolerance! If you remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno, it will be less “hot”.  The flavor can be varied by adding chipotle, cayenne, or habenaro peppers.

Sometimes I wish I was born into a family that made Latin cuisine all the time because I just love the food. A more recent discovery that my palate enjoys is the tomatillo. It’s a green little fruit that is a variation of gooseberry also known as the Mexican green tomato.   It technically is in the tomato “nightshade” family.  They are tart with a hint of sweet, I just love them!!!   I like to use them as a source of carbohydrate in my diet because this type of fruit is low glycemic and won’t aggravate my insulin resistance.

Enjoy this quick and easy green salsa recipe.  I love it on eggs and fajitas!  If you go back and read my posts on blood sugar, you’ll find my strategy for eating that repaired my severe insulin resistance.  When the insulin levels are erratic (spiking and crashing), this is very hard on the adrenals and can lead to “adrenal fatigue”.   Adrenal fatigue was the #1 reason for my severe hypoglycemia problem and panic / anxiety attacks.

Got anxiety? Heal the adrenals!!!

GREEN TOMATILLO SALSA RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 tomatillos

2 scallions

½ jalapeno

¼ c. cilantro

1/8 wedge of lime

1/8 tsp of cumin

¼  wedge of lemon

Salt

Instructions:

Chop tomatillos into eighths (big chunks) and place in food processor.  Finely chop scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro; add to the tomatillos.  Squeeze in juices of lemon and lime.  Sprinkle in the cumin and add a pinch of salt.  Pulse the food processor four or five times, just enough to mix well and break up the tomatillos a bit more – making them juicy but still chunky.  If you like a “smooth” salsa, blend until you reach the consistency you prefer.

*Add more or less jalapeno depending on your heat index tolerance! If you remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno, it will be less “hot”.

Many recipes call for agave as a sweetener and deem it as “SAFE” for hypoglycemia, diabetes, and insulin resistance.  I have read new reports saying that it is jacks up the liver because it’s pure fructose and many of the harvesting/processing methods are questionable (See Mercola.com).  I don’t know if all that is true. All I know is when I use agave my blood sugar flies all over the place; I can’t regulate it.  When I stopped using agave the I was able to really heal my insulin resistance issues. Remember, my panic and anxiety attacks were directly associated with blood sugar spikes and crashes.  So not only did my blood sugar regulate, the panic and anxiety improved.  Agave is NOT anxiety therapy!

This is why I choose maple syrup, it’s sucrose not fructose.  The higher the grade the better, A is lightest and C is darkest.  Grade B and C syrups taste wicked good, are full of minerals, and they have a low glycemic index of 54. BUT, it has a high glycemic load. Which means the blood sugar rises and can crash down if the there is not enough fat, fiber, and protein on the back end of the food to stabilize levels.  I love this recipe because it has a ton of fat, fiber, and protein which don’t make you fat, it’s the spiking and crashing of your blood sugar that does.

Another trick I do is cut back on the main sugar type sweetener and add stevia. For this recipe, I use Young Living’s stevia. It is the true extract, not the clear stuff you find commercially. It is sweet, but it is also high in minerals and has the blood sugar balancing health benefits of the stevia herb due to it’s high level of chromium.

The flour that is used is coconut, which is 58% fiber and 15% coconut oil.  Bran is only 27% fiber! Very few people are allergic to coconut, so it’s considered hypoallergenic.  I love the taste and when baked goods made with it are fresh, it is not cononutty.  Coconut flour is now found in many grocery stores in the health food section.

So what’s YLTG oils?  They are Young Living Therapeutic Grade essential oils. I use them medicinally for myself and in my practice. However, they taste great too!  I would never, ever, ever recommend using a store bought oil for ingestion. So please, if you make this recipe use Young Living’s Oils only.

The best part about this cake is that it is rich and satisfying.   The texture is like a pound cake and it is very moist.  Each piece has the equivalent of one egg in it!!!  So enjoy and don’t feel guilt with this wonderful treat.

THE CAKE ITSELF:

Ingredients:

¾ C coconut flour – sifted

¼ c Dutch coco powder – sifted

1 teaspoon Redmond RealSalt

1 tsp baking soda

10 eggs

1 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup Grade B maple syrup

½ tsp stevia (English Toffee and Vanilla Crème flavors can be used also)

1 tblsp vanilla extract

10 drops of YLTG orange oil

2 drops of YLTG Abundance oil

Instructions:

- Grease two 9” round pans with butter or coconut oil.

- In a small bowl mix the coconut flour, coco powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside

- In a large bowl add the 10 eggs. Whisk lightly to break the yolks. Add the grapeseed oil, maple syrup, stevia, vanilla, orange oil, and Abundance oil.  Blend with hand mixer until thoroughly combined.  Make sure the maple syrup is mixed in, because it is heavy it has a tendancy to settle at the bottom.

- Immediately add the dry mixture to the eggs. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth and even.

- Bake at 325 for 30 to 40 minutes.  Half way through, rotate the cake pan 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Check with a tester to ensure batter is completely cooked. Cake will be spongy and firm.

- Remove from oven and place in a well ventilated area.  Cake will pull away from edges and be easy to remove when completely cool in the pans.

THE SIMPLE & SINFUL FROSTING:

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life makes allergen free)

¾ cup of grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup

¼ tsp of stevia

2 tblsp of vanilla

Pinch of Redmond RealSalt

10 to 15 drops YLTG Abundance oil (15 drops is strong, but yummy!)

Instructions:

- In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and add grapeseed oil.  Do not allow to boil or “cook”.

- Turn off heat and wisk in maple syrup, stevia, vanilla, salt, and Abundance oil.

- Place pan in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to cool.  Do not allow to cool solid, it will not fluff up and be spreadable.

- Remove frosting from freezer when cool.  Mix with hand blender to add air. This will increase volume and make it easy to spread.

- Place about 1/3 of the frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Spread to the edges.  Place the top layer over the bottom.  Spread on the remainder of frosting.

Enjoy!!!

Super yummy with ice cream. We recommend Breyer’s Natural chocolate or vanilla – it’s not full of man made junk. Or, Turtle Mountain’s coconut ice cream!

SUPER SMOOTHIE RECIPE

2 scoops Power Meal

5 drops YLTG grapefruit oil for the taste, chemo prevention, bloating (lymph support)

2 drops YLTG  nutmeg oil for the adrenals

¼ tsp of Redmond Real salt for the adrenals

1 heaping tblsp of coconut oil for thyroid, blood sugar, and yeast (candida)

1 raw egg for the protein, fat, and vitamin A (1/2 an avocado can be used instead of eggs)

Stevia extract to taste

About 10 ice cubes in the blender 1^st, add ingredients.  Then fill up with enough water so it will blend until smooth. Blend super well so it gets fluffy and the coconut oil and ice cubes are no longer chunky.  Add Young Living’s stevia extract to taste.  It’s not only for the sweetness, but stevia is known to help balance blood sugar and decrease cravings.

Sometimes I add 1/4 cup of blueberries, raspberries, cherries, or strawberries to this. Nothing else. NO BANANNAS OR PINEAPPLE – although delicious they are very high in sugar.

If you are at work or on the road and can’t take time out with a blender, just do Power Meal as a snack. It taste goods even on the go by just adding water.

In the summer time I will often crave ice cream. By slightly tweaking the recipe above by adding a few more ice cubes and 1/2 an avocado – the smoothie will be very thick and can be eaten with a spoon. Yummy and health … PERFECT!

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Recipe time!  Another yummy one has been birthed from the kitchen with ingredients chosen “mindfully”.   Eating like this will not only help you’re brain feel fabulous, your pants will become looser too!   My recipes will typically not contain a starch (corn, potato, rice, pasta, bread, etc). This is because I use vegetables as my carbohydrate source due to my blood sugar issues (swings are what caused the severe panic/anxiety attacks). Eating this way also helps repair the “crazy blood sugar swinging” caused by severe insulin resistance.

Any protein can be chosen for this recipe – seafood, poultry, or meat.  I also choose Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce because it has way less sodium, uses non GMO soybeans, has no MSG, is gluten free, and I just plain like the taste better.  Bragg’s also contains these essential amino acids:  arginine, aspartic, lysine, glutamic, serine, threonine, alanine, glycine, praline, isoleucine, methionine, valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and leucine. Many of these are my favorites for balancing blood sugar and supporting feel good brain chemicals!

Simple Stir Fry:

Ingredients:

2 small onions (small diced)

3 large carrots (julienned)

1 large broccoli floret (coarsely chopped)

½ of a lemon

1 pound of protein cut into bite size pieces (your choice – we did steak!)

¼ cup of coconut oil (melted if not already liquid)

¼ cup of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

Mrs. Dash Seasoning – Lemon Pepper

2 drops ginger oil (Young Living ONLY!)

2 tablespoons of tapioca flour

Prep a few hours before cooking the meal:

Marinate protein with Bragg’s and coconut oil.  Sprinkle heavily with Mrs. Dash Seasoning (approx. 1 tsp).  Mix together and set aside for a few hours.

When it’s time to cook:

Saute meat in a wok or fry pan.  Scoop out meat and leave juice in pan. There should be about ¾ to 1 cup of liquid in the bottom, if not add water to increase the volume (add a few squirts of Bragg’s if you’re feeling saucy!).  Add in the vegetables and cook until al dente.

Remove about ½ cup of liquid and add the 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour and 2 drops of ginger oil – whisk until fully blended.  Put back into vegetable mixture and heat until thickened.



Remove from heat, squeeze lemon juice over the vegetables, and mix in the meat.

Now it’s done!  Enjoy.

You can read more about how your diet is related to you “BRAIN” by reading “Can You Really Eat Your Way to Happiness? The Mood Food Connection”.

There’s a method behind my madness with choosing these ingredients:

Pumpkin Seed Oil: Rich in Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, D. Good source of minerals selenium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and trace elements.  Significant source of essential fatty acids and vegetable protein.  Supports prostate, skin, digestive, immune, and circulatory systems.  And BOY is it yummy!

Hemp Seeds: FANTASTIC SOURCE OF AMINO ACIDS and ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS.  Hello,  super easy to digest anxiety busting food here!!!!

Tomato & Cucumber: Reduce acid and mucous levels in the body. AKA: balances the body’s pH which is often off whack when anxiety, panic, inflammation, immune compromise, etc. are present.

Cilantro:  Besides being my most favorite tasting herb on earth, this is why I love it:  balances blood sugar, chelates heavy metals out of the brain, supports digestion, rich in magnesium (calming mineral), reduces acid levels in the body, and protects against urinary tract infections.

Onion: Rich in sulfur which is anti-inflammatory and helps balance blood sugar.  Drains mucous and supports the immune system. Anti-parasitic (Super eewww – but these buggers can create anxious feelings!!!).

Olive Oil: Very trendy ingredient in recent years with all it’s cardiovascular health benefits. But it’s also a great source of Vitamins E and K.  Vitamin E is anti-inflammatory and is needed to help repair insulin receptor sites for those of us who are (were) insulin resistant.  Vitamin K is needed in partnership with Vitamin D for healthy bones.

Balsamic Vinegar:  Delicious and stimulates digestion by activating the enzyme pepsin. Pepsin breaks down protein into amino acids so our brain can have the raw materials it needs to make feel good chemicals (neurotransmitters).  Vinegar also helps improve insulin sensitivity.  (When my body was totally overgrown with yeast, I substituted fresh lemons for vinegar.)

Salt: Still using my favorite Redmond Real Salt.  The adrenals LOVE salt – good salt that is. Not the white bleached stuff that has about ZERO healthy attributes!

Italian Herbs: Oregano, marjoram, basil, & thyme all add savory stimulation to the taste buds but they also help support proper immune and digestive function.

RECIPE:

1/4 cup pumpkin seed oil

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

1 small sweet onion finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

4 medium tomatoes coarsly chopped

1 large cucumber coarsly chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs

salt to taste

ENJOY!!!

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So how can someone swap out ingredients in a recipe to help lessen blood sugar impact for those of us with hypoglycemia, diabetes, and/or insulin resistance?  There are ways, trust me!  Life without goodies is no life at all, right?

First, why is it so important to eat foods with minimal impact on the blood sugar even if you’re not diabetic, hypoglycemic, or insulin resistant?  Because severe blood sugar swings contribute to adrenal fatigue, one of the major underlying causes of panic attacks, anxiety, depression, and other stuff like that.  Also, it just plain makes you fat!

1.  To reduce sugar in a recipe, I will take the amount called for and half it. Then I add in stevia to kick it up to the sweetness level I want.  1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon of stevia.  1 tablespoon of sugar = 1/4 teaspoon of stevia.  1 teaspoon of sugar = a pinch or 1/16 teaspoon of stevia.  A little goes a long way with this stuff!  Too much stevia will give a funky aftertaste.  For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar.  I will use 1/2 cup of sugar and supplement with 1/2 teaspoon of stevia.

2.  Use coconut, nut, or bean flour.  When I bake, I especially use recipes that call for almond flour and coconut flour.  You cannot use a traditional recipe and swap out for these. Because they do not contain gluten and are very fibrous – special accomodations need to be made.  Because of food allergy awareness, there have been many books written on these flours that are excellent. I have a few listed in the My Favorite Stuff section.

3.  I do not use rice, soy, corn, or potato flours. One reason is I’m reactive to corn, soy, and potato. As for the rice, it’s very high glycemic. For me, it spikes and crashes my blood sugar too radically. Which stinks because it makes for good gluten-free pasta and cookies!  Boo hoo.

4.  You might be thinking, what about agave?  It’s being touted as a super sweetener that is low glycemic and perfect for people with blood sugar issues.  I used to think that too, until it gave me big problems. I was having severe swings from the 200′s down to 60′s.  Because agave is pure fructose, it is not a friend to our insulin receptors or liver.   If the key words “agave dangers” are searched on the web, much interesting mind fodder can be found.  I miss it dearly and it tastes wonderful.  The day I cut out agave I was in mourning, but all I know is when I cut out the agave and my blood sugars were much more regulated.

5.  Maple syrup and honey?  Maple syrup is relatively low on the glycemic index (low 50′s).  It can be used in recipes in place of sugar, the only problem is it’s strong and distinctive taste!  Honey is over 80 in the glycemic – it’s not too far behind sugar. Lesser amounts can be used instead of sugar because it’s sweeter. But, the best honey is raw and if  it’s heated the health giving enzymes are killed.

6.  There are other sugars that can be used also that I have experimented with. I do not know enough about them to share my experiences. Oh, except yacon syrup. It’s very glow glycemic but it tastes like minerals!  It compares to molasses. If anyone has used this, I’d love to hear from you!  Other sugars you can research are xylitol, sucanat, brown rice syrup, date sugar, chicory sugar, and palm sugar. That will keep you busy for a while!

Experiment and have fun with these suggestions.  Remember, everything in moderation.   Not only will you help anxiety, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance – you’ll just plain feel better when your blood sugar is balanced. Plus if you need to, you might be able to cinch in your belt a few notches!

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Looking for GLUTEN FREE recipes that taste good?   Elana Amsterdam’s blog is outta sight!  She has recipes that range from meat preparation to after dinner treats. It’s heaven for anyone who has gluten related food allergies.

I made the chocolate cake made with coconut flour.  Oh my goodness!  This cake was so moist and flavor rich. I even brought it over to my parents for dessert and they loved it; they aren’t even gluten avoiders!   I used turbinado sugar instead of agave in the batter at same ratios and it came out great. In the frosting I used raw honey instead of agave and it was out of sight.

Her book The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook just arrived at my home a few days ago. I found her blog when looking for gluten free goodies and noticed Elana had a fantastic looking book. Then, I realized I ordered it and it was already on it’s way.  At least I’m consistent!  The woman is pure genius when it comes to creating recipes that are so delicious that even the most discriminating gluten eater will love. You can find it listed HERE with a few other recipe books that I just LOVE!

Because some of the recipes are higher in sugar, I will be blogging about how to do substitutions to things are still SWEET but without the blood sugar impact.  Hypoglycemics still want a little sweetness in their life. Don’t we?