Meet Our New Kitchen Obsession!

We have a new awesome member of our small appliance kitchen family and we wanted to introduce you to it.  It is called an Instant Pot and it is remarkably awesome.  Why is it awesome you ask? Well, because when you are constantly going, it makes it easy to cook delicious, healthy food in very little time.  We were able to make an amazing chicken burrito bowl a few nights ago in less than 20 minutes start to finish.  That was with delicious moist chicken, long grain rice and sautéed onions and garlic all in one pot.


So what exactly is an instant pot might be the question you are thinking in your head.  Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot.  We are still experimenting with all the different functions this machine has to offer but lets just say so far everything we have used it for has impressed us.  Perfect fluffy quinoa with no effort, no problem.  One pot meals that save cooking time and decrease dishes in your sink, yeah, it does that.  Hard boiled eggs that peel easier than any other hard boiled egg I have ever seen, yep, covered.  We even baked little tiny personal mini cakes in it last night.  Next on the agenda homemade yogurt, which I can't wait for since they add so much sugar to the store bought varieties.

You might see more Instant Pot recipes in the future on our blog and social media posts.  There is no shortage of recipes out their as this appliance has a huge cult following.  This isn't your grandma's pressure cooker, you don't have to be scared of it.  It wont blow up in your kitchen, at least I should say ours hasn't yet, as long as you follow directions you should be ok.  Tune in later to see how the homemade yogurt experiment goes.

- Dr. Chris

The Jury's In: Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar

So 8 weeks ago, we took a challenge with a patient to drink apple cider vinegar daily to see if the benefits we had read so much about were actually true.

One of the things we had read was that it takes 60 days to see the full benefits of ACV. So we buckled down for the long haul and here we are. Was it worth it? and will we continue to drink it?

The answer is 100% yes.

Since we've started our daily drink neither of us have gotten sick. This says a lot, during what is traditionally known as "cold and flu season," and having a toddler bringing super kid germs home everyday.  We definitely believe in the immune boosting power it brings.

Both of us feel like its definitely helped with our gut health. Dr. Chris describes it as more of a "stable stomach" and for me its been more fighting acid reflux and burning stomach. I have a history of ulcers and when I started to feel stomach burning coming back on, I stopped drinking it for a few days. But after a little bit of research I learned that it might actually be the best thing for it and when I started drinking it again, along with a few other smart eating decisions, the burning stopped. And has stayed away with starting my day with ACV.

I'm not sure if anything can really curb sugar cravings completely, but we have both noticed a decrease, and honestly, any decrease I can get is a good thing! In terms of weight loss, there's nothing dramatic to report, but definitely a sense of overall feeling better.

It's also worth noting that we've been doing pretty well at sticking to our eating and workout plans while doing this. Both of those, I'm sure have played a part in all of the benefits we've experienced, but also can't say that one or the other is all to thank. Just another reminder that one thing won't fix it all. I still think that there's something about starting each day doing something that's great for your health, that sets your frame of mind, and day, up for a healthy success.

So, I encourage you to do your own research to see if apple cider vinegar is right for you, and this is a great place to start. We'd love to know what you think of apple cider vinegar and how you chose to enjoy it!

- Kristen

Weekly Meal Planning Feb 5th

People have been asking for insights into how we eat in a normal week.  Our goal in our clinic is to be as helpful for people as we can on their journey in leading a more healthy lifestyle.  Our routine is not perfect by any means, however we do try a variety of healthy dinners every week.  If our weekly meal plan can inspire patients to eat one nutritious meal per week or if you choose to follow the whole week I consider either a success.

Every Sunday morning I try to plan our meals Sunday - Thursday for that week.  Why do I do this?  Multiple reasons; first planning and preparation make it easier to stick to the plan, second planning Sunday morning allows me to make a concise grocery list before going to the store.  By have a list for the week it helps me stay out of the store during the week and cuts down on buying bad foods, which we don't need in our house.  Almost all of our weekly meals are easy to prepare on a week night, and do not require elaborate cooking skills.  In the next few weeks we will try to post on certain preparations that may not be familiar to some people such as spiralizing or ricing cauliflower.

Lastly, there are cooking utensils/appliances that are handy to have for the meals we typically make.  A spiralizer, which is used to make noodles out of vegetables, is a must in our kitchen.  Another must for us are our food processor and crock pot.

Lets get started. Well kind of.

Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) -  Lets be real its the Super Bowl I planned no meal for this day, it is a free day and I will be enjoying it for sure.

Monday - Shrimp Skewers with roasted vegetables

Shrimp Skewers
1lb Raw White Shrimp peeled (makes about 4 skewers with 5 shrimp)

1/2 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 cup italian dressing

Mix all three ingredients in container and let marinate during the day.  Skewer them up and put on the grill until pink and cooked through


Tuesday - Teriyaki Tofu over brown rice with steamed brocoli

This one is simple, cut tofu into slabs about 8 per tofu brick.  Let drain on paper towel for about 30 minutes.  brush on teriyaki sauce and grill for 2-3 minutes per side on medium heat.
Cook instant brown rice.
Chop broccoli into florets and steam on the stove top.
Place the rice on bottom and top with broccoli and tofu.  Keep it healthier dont add any additional sauce.


Wednesday - Crockpot Chicken Dinner

Thursday - Cauliflower Mexican Rice

- Chris

One week update: Apple Cider Vinegar Challenge

If you follow us on Instagram, you might have seen us post about incorporating apple cider vinegar into our health routine every day. We had a patient in the office and we got to chatting, as we do, and she asked us if we had ever tried it. It was funny she brought it up at that time because I felt like everywhere I was reading, I was learning about different benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar. It seemed like fate, so we agreed to try it and compare notes two weeks later when she was in to get adjusted.

All of the research I had done before starting was a little inconclusive. It seems that there is actually little science to back many of the claimed benefits. The benefits people say they experience range from less bloat, curbed sugar cravings, weight loss, immune system boosting, improved digestive issues, and more. It sounds too good to be true, but with 1 bottle costing $5.50 at my local Vitamin Cottage, I figured we really didn't have that much to lose. If I experienced even one of those benefits it would be worth it! Also worth noting, I had thought you could just take a shot and call it good, but thankfully my reading also advised diluting it with water (I also added a touch of honey!) to avoid burning your throat. Whew! There are fancy concoctions you can create as well, but I figured if we were actually going to do this the more simple we kept it, the better.

So, today marks one week of drinking the apple cider vinegar. How are we feeling? Actually, pretty great. BUT, I can't say that it's because of only the ACV. This week we've also happened to do really well with our eating, sticking to our plan, and really only putting good fuel in our bodies. At the same time we've also been doing great at sticking to our workout plans. So is the ACV helping? Maybe! Chris had read that it takes 60 days to really notice a difference, so I'm sure that time will tell. As much as we would like, our eating will not stay perfect every day over the next couple of months.

I do think ACV is responsible for us starting everyday with the intention of doing something great for our health. And do I think when you start the day focused on that, you are more likely to make smart, healthy decisions throughout the day. We'll post again in a couple weeks to let you know how it's going, but so far, so good!

- Kristen